Kingdom Hearts: A New Light
by Kee Blayd
Summary: My first ever fanfic. It follows Kevin and Andrea, two new people and OCs chosen to protect the worlds from the Heartless with the help of some familiar faces from the Kingdom Hearts series. Rated T for minor swearing and violence.
1. Setting Off

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts that belongs to Square Enix… However I do own the following: The Heartless Ten, Your souls, my own made up characters, other than HO13, your souls, the special weapons the characters use, and did I mention… your souls?

Author's Note: The New Chapter one of KH:ANL. I am almost certain this will be at least 1000 better than the original first chapter. On another note, I recently found another KH fanfic named "A New Light." I would like to let all of you know that this story and the other story have no connection whatsoever. I do plan on reading it however, just because it seems interesting (and the stories names being nearly the same may have something to do with it).

Chapter One: A New Beginning

* * *

It's been two years since that fateful night, when my home was plunged into a deep, putrid darkness. Everyone I knew, forgotten, and everyone that knew me, forgot me too, but seeing as how I was the master of all heartless, I couldn't care less. I was feeling unstoppable, in this darkness. Until I saw a strong light, from someone I had expected to be lost to the darkness like everyone else. It was none other than Sora. That revelation had shocked me more then anything. I hid in the darkness, and waited for the opportunity to strike, but in a final act of desperation the fool Ansem opened Kingdom Hearts and was overcome by its light, which also harmed me and reunited me with my Nobody. Thanks to one of my minions however, I was able to re-obtain my favored form.

Superior's Journal

Entry #1

* * *

Kevin woke up with the strong sunbeams of the summer sun hitting him straight in the eyes.

"Ouch, that really, really hurts." He grumbled sleepily, and turned over to face the clock.

"Holy crap! It's late! She was expecting me at the islet two hours ago!" He yelled.

He jumped out of bed, put on his pair of navy blue jeans, his navy blue shirt (which had several light blue stars on it) and ran to the boats outside, after combing his unruly, brown hair.

After saying bye to his mom, and running out the door, he ran through the streets of Fate, hoping he could get to the boat before it was noon. He ran by Tidus, Wakka and Selphie, who were all standing in the street, and were probably arguing on something small and tedious, such as where they should go next, and whether or not they should relieve themselves of the bags of clothing they were carrying around.

"Hey Kevin! Andrea has been waiting for a long time for you! Don't you know you should never keep a lady waiting?" Tidus yelled at him.

Selphie smacked him on the back of the head and said, in a frightfully sweet manner, "Don't you start dragging your attention away from the important things. Ignore that hopeless lover, as if he could hope to win Andrea over."

Kevin ignored the comment and continued to run. Within five minutes, he was at the dock, and his rowboat was there, but Kairi's, Riku's and Sora's rowboats were nowhere to be found. He noticed Andrea's boat, and sighed in exasperation.

_If I knew she was going to be this late, I would have just stayed in bed. God, that is frustrating!_

Regardless of her boat still being there, he jumped in his own, and felt under the small bench he had put in. Good, his weapon was there. He couldn't wait to take on Sora and Riku. He needed a rematch to show that he can actually fight on his own. He brought out the oars, dipped them in the water, and began to row furiously.

When he was about halfway, he saw a group of three rowboats approaching him from the main island. He grinned happily. It would seem that the three stooges had gotten over their useless argument.

Once his boat brushed against the sandy shore of the islet, Kevin slipped his black leather gloves on. They were nothing much on their own, but Kevin had been able to set a bunch of sturdy blocks of oak, that he had fashioned to be shaped like blades in his woodshop class, onto the parts where his knuckles would have been on the gloves.

He jumped onto the sand, and walked towards the small cylindrical island that was within walking distance (and depth) from where he was standing. He climbed up the ladder and saw Riku, Kairi and Sora all sitting on the paopu tree, and chatting about something called Organization XIII, and a letter they had gotten from someone named Mickey.

"Hey guys, what's new?" Kevin asked, approaching him, a playful grin on his face.

"Nothing really, we are just sitting here and chatting. Why, what are you doing?" Sora replied.

"Well, I want a rematch Sora. So, how about it? I saw how you totally owned Tidus, Wakka and Selphie the other day. So, now I want a piece of that action." Kevin said, the grin spreading.

Sora looked at his friends questioningly, both smiled at him and he jumped down, and picked up the wooden sword that was resting at his feet.

"Kevin, you have yourself a battle." Sora said, crouching slightly at the knees, and holding the toy sword so that the tip was over his left shoulder.

At that moment, Tidus, Wakka and Selphie ran across the bridge that connected the cylindrical islet and the bigger islet and watched the two combatants expectantly.

"Oh man! This will be great! I can't wait to see Kevin get served!" Tidus shouted, pumping his fists in the air.

Selphie glared at Tidus, and Wakka laughed slightly. Kairi and Riku stood on the opposite sides of the small group of three and watched Kevin and Sora.

"Okay you two battlers! Here are the rules.

One: Headshots are not allowed.

Two: If one person forfeits the match, the other person must respect that and can not continue, or else the person that forfeits will get the victory.

Three: Riku and I are law in this, if we say something isn't right, you will respect that and will cease all actions immediately." Kairi shouted at the two people that were on the Islet.

Sora's and Kevin's stances were a lot different from each other. Sora was crouched and tense; ready to leap at Kevin like a spring, and Kevin was just standing there, grinning with anticipation.

"Five."

Kevin began to crouch too.

"Four."

Sora grinned at Kevin.

"Three."

Kevin returned the grin.

"Two."

Both tensed up, ready to attack.

"One"

The crowd stared expectantly at the two fighters.

"ZERO!" The five people on the bridge shouted.

Sora leapt at Kevin, swinging the toy sword in a full arc, aiming for Kevin's right shoulder. Kevin spun to the side, grabbed Sora's leg as he flew by, using the spin to gain momentum; Kevin swung Sora so that he flew straight at a palm tree.

There was a definitive crack as Sora made contact with the tree, and splinters of wood exploded everywhere. Kevin was almost worried for a second, but realized that Sora had connected with the trunk with his feet, and not his head. Kevin than realized he had a new problem; Sora was ready to jump again.

Sora grinned and leapt off the tree, and flew at Kevin again. Kevin fell onto his back, and in very much the same manner, as Riku would have, Kevin launched himself off the ground and his shoes connected with Sora's gut. The spiky headed teen went off course, arms pin wheeling, and with a yell, splashed into the water.

A shocked silence ran through the crowd, but it was soon broken when a sodden Sora sadly slumped onto the sandy islet (Shut up, I don't care how funny it is, I have said it, and it's done…). Riku began roaring with laughter and was laughing so hard that tears were streaming from his eyes.

_Oh wow! The chosen Wielder of the Keyblade got his ass kicked by Kevin! That is too rich! Maybe they should have sent Kevin in to deal with Xemnas instead!_ Riku thought, wiping the tears from his eyes.

Kevin offered his hand to help Sora up, and a mischievous grin crossed Sora's face that Kevin was not able to detect in time. Kevin was dragged into the water as Sora limply fell back into the water, which made Kevin the one that was sad and sodden.

Kevin climbed up the ladder again, and Sora just jumped to the top like he had done it every day of his life, and both shook themselves dry. They shook hands and bowed before the crowd, Selphie was laughing at Sora and Kevin, while Tidus was giggling uncontrollably (How manly). At this point, Riku and Kairi held each other in a quivering grip, laughing too hard at the appearance of Kevin and Sora, both were still visibly wet, but after Kevin shook himself, his hair was spiky enough to rival Sora's own hair.

Kevin patted his hair down and he grinned at Riku.

"Your turn." He said, making a "bring it" gesture.

Sora's hand clamped down on Kevin's shoulder and he looked at him for a moment, and a grin spread across his lips.

"Good luck, you are going to need it." He said, released his grip.

Riku came up to where Sora had been before they began the fight and Sora sat down next to Kairi, dripping all over the wooden bridge.

"Okay guys, same rules. No headshots! Time to count down!"

"Five!"

Kevin stood with his right arm limp, facing Riku.

"Four!"

Riku stood nonchalantly, with his sword arm tensed.

"Three!"

Sora stood up.

"Two!"

Kevin's legs tensed.

"One!"

Riku looked at him calmly, the ocean breeze ruffled his hair slightly, and Selphie sighed.

"ZERO!" The crowd screamed.

They circled each other cautiously, waiting for an opening. Kevin mentally grinned as he let his guard down on purpose, but in reality, still had a calm face.

_That bastard! He did that to me when we fought last week! Oh well, Riku should not be as impulsive as I was, right? _Tidus thought, glowering at Kevin.

Riku saw the glowering teen and smiled at Kevin, and his smile grew a bit when he saw the root poking out of the ground right behind Kevin's feet. He charged at Kevin, who ducked and tried to jab at Riku with his gloved hand. His hand missed however as Riku seemed to vanish from sight.

_Riku you asshat! _Sora screamed in his head. _You know that's cheating!_

Kevin was dazed for a second, but quickly regained his composure as a wooden sword slammed on his right shoulder. Kevin swung around, his right arm limp, using it almost as a sort of club, and it collided with Riku's side. He stumbled back, and Kevin used the very same root Riku had initially used to put Kevin at a disadvantage to spring himself off the ground and at Riku.

Riku grinned and lazily brought his sword up to guard the attack. Kevin grew wary but still continued on his main course. A second before he made impact with the wooden sword, he saw the wood darken somehow. Kevin collided with what appeared to be a small hexagon and was sent flying back. No one else had seen the hexagon, but Kevin was sure it was there.

_Riku! I can't believe how cheap you are! Why can you NOT use your freaking powers and fight fair! _Sora yelled in his head yet again.

Sora was visibly annoyed, and Kevin looked back at him.

He took his glove off and mumbled, "Fine, I admit defeat, Riku, you win."

_Sora knows something is up, and judging by Kairi's annoyed expression, she does too. What the hell happened to Riku and Sora when they were gone for that year? First, there was Sora who practically flew off of the ground and the palm tree at me, and __**then**__ he jumped__** up**__ that fifteen foot drop like it was something he did every day! Finally, Riku comes along and does that weird disappearing thingy, and __**then**__ this weird dark hexagonal thingy blows me back about five feet! What is going on?_

He glowered at Riku, demanding answers, but the silver haired teen merely shrugged and offered his hand to help Kevin up. Kevin grabbed it all right, but he was too annoyed by what ever the hell it was that Riku did, and not knowing how he did it to accept the help. So instead, he pulled a Sora, and did a backwards roll, and flung Riku over the side of the cylindrical islet and into the water.

There was even more laughter as Riku had gotten himself humiliated. When Riku jumped up, exactly the same as Sora had done. Kevin was even more angry and confused. Riku stomped over to Kevin, and looked very pissed off. Kevin stood up and returned the glare.

A nervous Tidus looked at Wakka and Selphie and said "Erm… I think it's time for us to go."

The three stooges, as Kevin enjoyed calling them, had left. Kevin's glare at Riku turned to a smile. He stood up, brushed himself and looked at the other teen directly in the eyes.

"Now Riku, I want to know something. Sora and Kairi, I want you to answer this too." He said, and Kairi and Sora joined Riku. "Just exactly what the _hell_ happened to our resident celebrities Sora and Riku? Somehow you are both able to make vertical jumps of fifteen feet, and somehow, Riku can summon a freaking hexagonal shaped wall and teleport! I want answers, and I want them now."

Kairi, Sora and Riku exchanged nervous glances; Sora cleared his throat and opened his mouth.

"Well, thanks to idiot-stick Riku, we have to reveal a few things about what happened in the past year and a half."

"The hell you do." Kevin said calmly.

Riku glowered at Sora, and was about to make a retort to the 'idiot-stick' comment, but bit it back from an elbow in the ribs from Kairi.

"Kevin, you might want to sit down, this story is a long one." Kairi said, "Even I don't really know what happened, because I came back to the island after the first segment, and even before them… I was, well… Lost, I guess you would say lost."

Kevin nodded and sat down.

Andrea's rowboat finally appeared on the water by the time Riku had gotten to the part about this massive castle known as Castle Oblivion. Apparently, if you were there, you would lose your memories, and false ones would replace those memories.

Andrea came across the bridge with a rather loud "What's up?" followed by a "Sorry!" after the four looked at her. She sat next to Kevin and listened to Sora explain his exploits on The World That Never Was, and her mouth was agape as he told the story about his fight with the leader of this 'Organization XIII', whose name was Xemnas. Kevin soon realized with a snort, a wonderful anagram of that name was.

Sora came to his conclusion, and was about to finish when he realized he never explained what was happening with the island when that storm had happened after he disappeared.

"So, Kevin, Andrea. Do you remember those creatures that swarmed the island on the night of the storm?" Sora asked.

"Saw them?" Kevin replied indignantly. "I _felt_ them! I was able to fight a few away from my little brother, but one got me by surprise, and I fell. I fell endlessly. I then had these images I guess you could call them. Images of atrocious deeds I was doing. I was attacking families, innocent people. I remembered that one emotion that rang throughout that darkness the whole time. Believe me Sora, Riku, Kairi, Andrea; it was not remorse."

Andrea's hand flew up to her mouth and covered it. She looked at Kevin with something like worry in her eyes.

He looked at her and whispered, "You remember too, don't you?"

She nodded with the worry being replaced by full out terror and she looked at Sora, Riku and Kairi again.

Sora put his hands to the back of his head and made a low whistle. Riku nodded curtly, and Kairi mirrored Andrea's terror.

"I think what happened Kevin and Andrea is that you both became Heartless. They are beings that were once people. They became Heartless after their own hearts had been filled with darkness. They hunt solely on instinct and only hunt for the hearts of other living things. They are deadly alright. They are what I was fighting ever since the storm first started." Sora said.

Riku looked down a bit, remembering how he was enemies with Sora and how he had on more than one occasion, tried to end his best friend's life.

"Oh hey! I just remembered something. A letter, it seemed to have been torn out a journal or something. I think that it might be tied to your stories." Kevin said, pulling out a worn piece of paper.

Sora looked at it and his heart hammered in his chest. Riku and Kairi had similar reactions.

"Kevin? Where did you find this?" Sora asked, a slight urgency was in his voice.

Kevin shrugged "Don't know. It was in my jeans pocket when the darkness vanished and I was back here. I never threw it out. For some reason I felt a strong connection to it. No matter how many times I tried to decipher the journal entry, no answers would come out of it. Why, how bad could it be?"

"This Ansem that is in the journal entry is the same one Riku and I fought. This is very eerie Kevin. Very, very eerie. If Mickey or Yen Cid were here, I could ask them about it, but Mickey has important business in Radiant Garden." Sora replied. His face was grim.

Andrea stood up abruptly and looked down at Kevin.

"Kevin, we should get going. I have all the supplies ready, they are in my boat." She said, her voice shaking slightly.

Kairi became interested in what Andrea was saying.

"What's ready? Are you going on a date?" She asked, drawing out the 'date' and winking at Kevin.

Kevin laughed and shook his head. "Nah, we are building a raft. We are going to beat you three at your own game. We are going to see what is past the ocean. It will be fun. See ya when I come back from the other coast!"

He ran after Andrea who was already getting close to the other side of the island. He heard Sora shout something, but only waved his hand. He didn't want Andrea to win the race and he would be the one to row the damn raft for the first day.

He charged through the door, and saw Andrea running swiftly over the bridge. He chuckled slightly and ran over the fence next to him and did a breaststroke to the docked raft, where the supplies were waiting. He crawled onto the sand, a mere yard from where the raft was. He jumped to his feet and ran to the raft. He was not able to even get halfway however when _it_ happened.

"SUPER ANDREA GLOMP ATTACK!"

He got shoved into the water by a football style tackle made by Andrea. He glared at her, and spat a mouthful of seawater at her, pushed her off and jumped onto the raft.

"I WIN DAMNIT! I FREAKING WIN!" He yelled, pumping his fists into the air.

* * *

On the other side of the island, Riku, Kairi and Sora raised their heads.

"Sora, did you hear that? I think someone just screamed 'I'm number one!'" Kairi asked, looking inquisitively at Sora.

Riku smiled and said "Nah, it sounded more like 'I will take you, one on one!'"

"Yeah whatever." Sora said and laid his head against the paopu tree.

* * *

On the emerald-blue ocean…

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!" Selphie shrieked.

Tidus had a sickened face and looked at the island where he last saw Kevin and Riku glaring at each other.

"Dunno, but it sounded like 'I will rip off your limps! ONE BY ONE!'"

Wakka laughed and said "Nah, it sounded more like 'Let's go! Let's do this thing one on one!'"

Needless to say, Selphie slapped him.

* * *

Andrea shoved him over; he tripped over a huge crate that was on the raft they had built. He opened the un-nailed top of the crate and saw a bunch of brown-bagged lunches. Under them was a small suitcase that barely was small enough to fit in the box.

He pulled it out and found a put together fishing spear. There was a tag attached to it that said: "Happy birthday Kevin."

He looked over at Andrea who was smiling at him.

"Thanks Andrea. It's great!" He said.

She said nothing, she just walked up and slugged him in the arm sixteen times and sat down. Kevin glared at her, plopped down next to her. His arm was going to bruise, he just knew it, and Andrea was tough. He had seen her do amazing things in her gymnastics classes.

"Andrea. You have made me quite mad. There is only one thing that can be done after what you did… SUPER NOOGIE!"

She shrieked as Kevin noogied her. Soon she was trying in vain to hit him.

After their small fight, Kevin and Andrea worked together to push the raft into the water. Both were too weak to do it alone. It was in the water, and both jumped onto it. And both rested, and let the current pull them off to the sunset over the horizon.

* * *

Author's Note: And that concludes the redone chapter one! For those of you that may be interested in what the originals looked like, I may put them both in the credits segment after the story is complete. All in all, this chapter has put in a lot more detail (About 3000 more words of detail) and is at ten pages! And some parts of the font were actually (Don't know why.) smaller! I encourage everyone, even those of you that are already reading and are anxiously awaiting chapter thirteen to read this chapter yet again.

Second Note: At the end of each chapter, if there is a new character brought into the story, I will be putting up a short and sweet bio on them and their abilities. If there is a major change to a character in a certain chapter, I will be remaking his/her short character bio after the conclusion of said chapter.

* * *

Kevin: A resident of the Destiny Islands and the main character for this story. Kevin is very inquisitive and thirsts for knowledge, but also has enough common sense to know when it's enough. He has a strong sense of right and wrong and can often pick up small details if he tries. Kevin enjoys storms, as in lightning storms with strong winds. He especially however enjoys the ocean and swimming.

Andrea: A resident of the Destiny Islands and Kevin's life-long friend. She is another main character for the story. Like Kevin, she can be curious, but she tends to act on impulse more than thought. She tries to help people and strives to be a doctor after she is done High School. She likes snow and cold weather, as well as the color pink.


	2. Eyes in theWater

To my reviewer(s):

Sauron: Thanks! I'm glad you said that, it's way too chunky. Also,

I am going to make the story appear less squished in this chapter because it looked too short in the first one.

Note to the readers: The story is from now on going to be in third person, first person is always so frustrating for me, sorry if the first chapter was confusing at all.

Chapter Two: Eyes in the water

After three days of being out at sea, they could finally see no land whatsoever and Andrea kept talking about seeing green skinny fish that were long and had these strange things next to their bodies, Kevin just kept lying down on his back and ignored her. Kevin did, however notice these strange large blue fish that had large jaws and occasionally let loose bolts of electricity, which seemed the give the smaller, green fish more energy and they rushed around vigorously.

"Kevin, what the heck is up with that journal?" Andrea said, noting the book in Kevin's hand with navy blue stars,

"and, your clothes." She said, pointing towards Kevin's clothes that also had navy blue stars.

"Argh, what the heck, what is it with you and blue stars in general?!"

"What, you have known me for ten years and you have never asked me that question!" Kevin said, looking flustered. The heat was getting to him.

Andrea turned away and harrumphed, and looked at the fish again. _What is it with __**her**__ and fish?_ Kevin thought, and mumbled something about her being sushi.

Andrea yelled for Kevin and motioned with her hand for him to come, she pointed towards the water and a pair of large yellow eyes from a large blue fish looked up at them. It blinked and vanished.

Andrea fell asleep, exhausted after worrying for 2 hours after seeing those giant yellow eyes. Kevin took this opportunity to go fishing with Andrea's new fishing spear. After jumping into the frigid water, Kevin felt something brush against his feet (Oooh… scary story climax opener!).

A huge wave hit him as he resurfaced and knocked him under water again. Something brushed by him again, but this time knocking the breath out of him, as he felt this mystery attacker rush straight into his chest. After the froth cleared from the wave, he saw a jet of froth coming at him and he held up his spear to parry it.

When the jet hit it, yet another explosion of bubbles happened, and a green skinny fish, very much like the one Kevin and Andrea had seen earlier was floating right in front of him, unconscious.

It sprung up with new energy and charged for him again, Kevin held out the spear so that the sharp point was sticking right in the way of the fishes head, it made contact and exploded in a swirl of dark tendrils. The tendrils enveloped him and he rose to the surface, unconscious.

Andrea woke up after having a huge wave of froth wash over her, and she noticed Kevin's unconscious body floating stomach up in the water. She pulled him up and started doing CPR (Thank God for life guard training!).

"Kevin, get up! GET UP!" She started beating on his chest out of desperation, and he started to cough up water. A Heartless appeared behind her and jumped at her, swinging its arms and slashed her across her back.

She fell over; coughing and her body disappeared. Leaving a heart which transformed into a girl of similar size, but with dark brown hair, tied into a bun with loose curls falling down.

She wore black shorts and a white tee shirt with a black coat over it. She looked at the unconscious boy and she said "Time to wake Venxik up" she sighed, and shoved her palm into the unconscious boy's chest.

He coughed and his heart disappeared, and was replaced by a teen with pale skin, pitch black hair that was spiked in the front. His clothes were all black, including his jeans and tunic.

He turned to the girl and said "Thanks Axdrane, another minute in that body and I would have destroyed it myself."

She laughed and said "Enough wasting time, let's destroy this blasted island already!" He looked at her and chuckled, "I should have thought of that!"

They both raised their hands, and the Destiny Islands were once again, plunged into darkness.

* * *

Author's note: This was taking a while to do, mainly because I did not have the computer time, I have my first ten chapters written out already, and it's just a matter of getting the computer time!

Also, I will be doing character information at the end of each chapter for the new characters introduced to the story.

Kevin: A teenager living on the Destiny Islands with his best friend Andrea, he knows Sora and Riku and lost in countless play fights against them. With a heart of gold, he often helps his friend with any of their problems asking for little in return. He plans on finding a new world to escape the extreme boredom of the Destiny Islands.

Andrea: Kevin's childhood friend, she is the same age, but a foot shorter. Often being called Shrimp, El Shorty and Ari (Japanese for ant), She of course hates it, which is why people torment her with those names. She wanted to be a part of Kevin's adventure for the same reason as he does.

Venxik: Mysterious Heartless of Kevin, he came into being when Axdrane, Andrea's Heartless took Kevin's Heart. Not much is known, but he does seem to have a plan on making a new army to dominate the worlds.

Axdrane: The Heartless of Andrea. Not much is known about her, except that she shares the same ideals as Venxik and will stick with him no matter what.


	3. Nobody

To my reviewers:

Sauron: Thanks, once again for the review; I hope you liked the review I made for your fanfic.

Firestorm Studios: Thanks! I didn't really even think about it lacking Sora, Riku and Kairi. Sadly enough, none of the Disney worlds will be visited (but will be replaced by worlds I personally like and will be liked by others)

Chapter Three: Nobody

"C'mon bro! Move your damn ass!" Ryan yelled back at his brother, which was quickly falling behind. "You try roof jumping with a 100 pound suit of armor on your back!" _I knew I should have carried that stupid suit of armor; I have to do everything! Break into Radiant Garden's highest security armory; deal with a lagging wimp and dealing with the authorities! _Ryan thought, ducking out of the way of a gunshot. As well as Ryan and Shaun got along; they were the ones that would get into arguments the quickest.

When they weren't killing someone or being hired bodyguards, they were stealing their client's most beloved treasures and keeping it for themselves. This actually happened to be a great strategy, if the person they worked for was stupid enough, they would usually double, even triple the amount they paid the two assassins to guard the treasure vault with more vigor.

Regardless of what others would say, they were the best assassins in Radiant Garden; the only two people they had to worry about were Squall Leonheart and Cloud Strife. In spite of where they lived, their operations were actually quite low tech. While filling in their day jobs as assassins, they wore long black cloaks, much like the ones worn in the old Organization XIII except that these ones had a crimson drop on the chest.

They wore black stealth suits to avoid people as they ran away from the authorities with stolen jewelry or other things, in this case: armors. As low tech as they were, they were the most feared people in Radiant Garden, possibly even during the Heartless invasions. Ryan, who wasn't looking where he was going and crashed into someone standing in front of him.

He looked up to see someone's silhouette in the moonlight, with strangely glowing eyes. He stood up and brushed himself off, and was about the clout the person when he saw the Heartless insignia on his chest. He froze and was about to turn around, until he saw that it was only a kid.

He laughed and said "Hey kid, watch where you're sta- oof!"

Ryan just got knocked over by Shaun. The teen pulled him up and thrust his hand into Ryan's chest, and he fell to the ground, coughing. His body glowed as his heart separated. Shaun, seeing the whole thing, jumped away and was hiding in a dark corner of the buildings.

Ryan stood up. He was now wearing a strange black cloak that had blood red outlines of the Heartless symbol on it. Under it you could see his black shirt and equally as black sweat pants.

He started brushing himself off again as the other one said, "What is your name, mine is Venxik." "My name… is Ryan."

Venxik sighed and said "Wrong, your name is Raynx, you are going to lose all of your ties with the world of light, including your name and you will join us as a Heartless."

Raynx bowed and said "Okay" and they both disappeared. Shaun looked in horror as his brother vanished, backing away even further as he bumped into a solid object. He spun around to see what he hit and a girl stood there; shaking with uncontrollable laughter

"I can't believe you would think that you could avoid Heartless in the shadows! Haha! That is too funny!"

She thrust her palm into his chest and his heart separated from his body to become an almost exact clone of Shaun, except that he had green, spiked hair

"Oh my god! I MADE A CUTE PUNK HEARTLESS!" the girl squealed in delight, "My name is Axdrane, and you should be Xunahs, it's just such a cool name!"

Xunahs nodded and they both vanished, none of them realizing the other boy and girl lying in the street, unconscious.

* * *

The girl in the streets was the first to wake up, she sat up straight and rubbed her head and groaned, "Where am I?" 

She groggily looked around some more, and noticed the boy lying down next to her, unconscious. She slowly moved towards him, wary of the fact that there was a strange boy lying face down on the cobble stone road next to her, unconscious.

She tilted his head to see what his face look like and jumped back in shock as she realized it was Kevin. "Oh god, oh god what happened to him? SOMEONE! I NEED HELP!"

Luckily enough, _someone_ heard her. A young man, wearing a vest that had fur along its brims and tight leather pants, and carrying a massive sword that's cross guard appeared to be the end of a gun ran up to her and Kevin, with a young woman with red-brown hair with a pink bow and a pink dress on ran close behind.

She bent over Kevin and felt his forehead, no fever and went pale as she checked for his pulse… There was none. Strangely enough, his skin wasn't cold, it was still warm and he appeared to be breathing. She motioned for the man to come over and he did the same, and whispered "A Nobody?"

She looked grim and said "Maybe, but we can't be too sure, he may just have a faint pulse."

Andrea heard the words "Faint pulse" and fainted.

The man slapped his forehead and said "Nice going Aireth. Very subtle…"

She gave him a cold glare and said, "As if you could do better, Leon. We have to get them to Merlin's, before the Heartless come."

He picked up the two unconscious people and took them towards the borough.

As they neared the front door of Merlin's house, they heard a deep laugh, followed by several blasts of dark energy, Leon danced around them, careful to avoid being hit and Aireth ran into the house.

After the barrage ended, they entered the house and King Mickey ran up to them and squeaked "What happened out there! Who attacked you?!"

He summoned his Keyblade and ran outside. "Who's there? Come out!"

A portal opened in front of him and a teen walked out, he was wearing a blood red tunic, with jeans of equal color, and clearly on his chest was the emblem of the Heartless.

He bowed and said "Your majesty, I see that you have two Nobodies in your custody, allow me to take care of them."

Mickey glared at him and said "No."

His pale face turned to show an amused smirk and he said "Fine, have it your way." He summoned two Invisibles and they offered him their blades.

he said, "This is your final warning, give them to me, or else."

Mickey's glare deepened, and he said "Not on your life buddy."

He jumped at him and slashed with his Keyblade, gold streaks seen through the air. The other easily defended it and used his own strength to throw the diminutive king against the wall of Merlin's house. Mickey used the force of the flight to throw himself off of the wall and flew towards him, shooting as many pearls as he could before doing multiple front flips and looking like a golden saw.

His strike was successful and the teen shrugged it off and said, "Nice trick, but I will tell you something. I am Venxik, that boy's Heartless and the destroyer of the Destiny Islands. This…" Axdrane appeared at his side and smiled sweetly at the king "is Axdrane, the girl's Heartless. As you can see, we are one in the same; we can't be without each other. Let us be united."

Mickey stared at the two and said "You sure are persistent, aren't you? The answer still stays at no; I tend to have annoying stubborn streaks. There is no way you are going to get those kids."

Venxik bowed mockingly and said "Fine, I will be back soon to collect my prize."

He and Axdrane left, leaving Mickey to ponder what just happened.

Mickey walked back into the house, with a worried expression on his face.

Yuffie jumped up from her spot on the bed, next to Andrea and asked, "What happened? I saw the fight through the window, but who was that guy?"

Mickey's brow furrowed and he said "The two kids in here, are Nobodies, that girl that appeared with the boy that attacked me are their Heartless. The boys name was Venxik, and the girl's was Axdrane. If they are naming themselves the way they are, that could mean that the Nobodies names are Kevin and Andrea. If I am correct, things could be bad. Tell me Leon, who were the two people that went missing last night?"

Leon was about to talk but was cut off by the hyperactive ninja "Ryan and Shaun, the two assassins… Wait a sec, you don't think that…" She threw her hands up to her mouth and gasped.

Mickey looked grim and said, "It is possible, I will investigate after these two wake up, I want to see if I can get any information off of them."

A few hours later, Kevin woke up with a groan and looked around the cluttered, one room house and muttered, "Where am I? Where are the raft and the ocean?" He bolted upright and asked "Where is Andrea?!"

Mickey and the others peered away from Cid's computer from the commotion and walked over to him.

Yuffie said "Holy cow, you have been asleep for a long time! You are in Merlin's house; Radiant Garden is the world you're in. Andrea is asleep in the other bed."

She was speaking rather quickly and Kevin was still a bit slow from being unconscious for a day and Leon pulled Yuffie aside and explained what had happened and everything about Nobodies and Heartless that he knew.

"At least Andrea is okay. Anyways, to answer your question, my home is on the Destiny Islands." Everyone in the room froze, and Yuffie made a pathetic squeak.

Mickey looked downcast and said, "Kevin, I am sorry to say this, but the Destiny Islands are gone, they were destroyed by yours and Andreas Heartless."

Kevin looked downcast and looked at Andrea, and asked, "So then, what can we do? If my home is gone, then I can't see my friends. Besides Andrea; Kairi, Sora and Riku were pretty much my best friends. They can't be gone, right?"

Mickey jumped and asked, "You were friends with them?"

Kevin nodded and Leon frowned and said, "So were we, when the islands were gone the first time, Leon and Yuffie met Sora in Traverse Town. He later on saved this world, Radiant Garden from the Heartless and has been helping us ever since."

Kevin looked up, shock visible in his eyes. He said "Whoa… Are you serious? That goofball saved a world?" Leon smiled and said "That and so much more." Kevin looked down and mouthed a "wow". His head perked up again and he asked, "Did you see my backpack anywhere?"

Leon shrugged and said "No, I haven't seen it anywhere. What was in it?"

Kevin thought about it for a minute. _Well my claw was in it, but I guess a leather glove with wood super glued to it won't pose much of a threat to Heartless._

" I guess I really didn't have anything besides spare money."

He felt his neck, trying to find the Dragon's Tooth and went pale. It was gone!

Yuffie was the first to notice, and she asked, "Hey, what's wrong?"

Kevin gulped and said "My good luck charm… Is gone."

Aireth gave a sad look and said, "That is really bad, what was on it?"

"It was my grandmother's, she gave it to me when she passed away. On it were various gems I had found when I went diving, and an old tooth that I call the dragon's tooth. It was really lucky, and held a lot of sentimental value."

Leon sighed and said, "That is bad news, but right now, you need to be able to defend yourself if you are going to continue living here in Radiant Garden."

Kevin looked up and asked, "Can it really be that dangerous here?"

Leon nodded and replied, "Yeah, there are Heartless running around, even with the towns defense system, people are losing their hearts. On top of that, a mysterious person attacked us earlier, he was a Heartless as well. He said he had some ties to you."

Leon decided to avoid telling Kevin about Venxik being his Heartless because that would cause him to worry.

Merlin cleared his throat to get everyone's attention, and he said "I would like to take Kevin upstairs to help him learn magic, obviously it is too dangerous to do that here."

He looked at Kevin, who had a confused look.

_I am going to learn… Magic?_

* * *

Shaun: An assassin of Radiant Garden and Ryan's younger brother. He is a very smart person that can brew any toxin capable of taking down any enemy of any size, even if they just get a whiff of it. 

Ryan: An assassin of Radian Garden and Shaun's older brother. He is master of sword fighting and has only ever met his match at the hands of Cloud Strife or Squall Leonheart. He often drags his brother along to take the blame for his own crazy and stupid ideas.

Raynx [Rainks: Ryan's Heartless, he uses a powerful sword known as Dreggan, and is master with using dark magic, only two people are better than him in that category.

Xunahs [Zun-ahs: Shaun's Heartless, he is capable of creating a poisonous fog that deals massive damage to anyone that isn't a Heartless that breathes it in. His weapon is a double edged sword that secrets a deadly poison. Axdrane appears to have a massive crush on him


	4. Lessons in Magic

* * *

To My Reviewers: 

SkyLandOcean: Good thing I updated, eh?

FireStorm Studios: Thanks! I like the idea of showing other sides of the story, just so that things can't be easily missed… Like "who the hell is that guy?" By me showing what other people are doing, you can see how they also grow and work on their own separate goals! I just love doing that

* * *

Venxik wandered through the various worlds, hoping to find a suitable place for him to stay. Finally, he dropped to the ground in the snowy mountains of the Land of Dragons and sighed, 

"Well Axdrane, Raynx, Xunahs. We are lacking a place to stay. Do you have any suggestions?"

Axdrane looked up at the night sky, watching the millions of snowflakes fall through the chilly air. It was amazing to see the multitude of snowflakes softly fall to the ground and to see the stars behind them dance and twinkle in the night sky. She seemed to be spellbound by the night sky and she lay on her back to get a more comfortable view.

"Lets stay here Venxik, we can take over this world easily enough, and then we can look at this wonderful sky every night." Axdrane whispered.

Xunahs looked up thoughtfully and lay beside her and said, "It looks nice, and I like that idea, Axdrane. Could we Venxik? Just think about it."

Raynx gave a flustered sigh and plopped down onto the snowy hill. The snow falling onto them looked nice and all, but he had no intention of living on such a pathetic world. He wanted to be in a world that was darker, not such a peaceful world.

Venxik stood up, brushed himself off and said, "I agree, this world does look nice, but we can't stay here, we need to move on to a world more suitable for us. Whoever heard of Heartless that looked up at the snowy sky every night, and day dreamed? I say no."

Axdane and Xunahs groaned and Axdrane looked at Venxik, her long, black hair moving with her and asked, "Why don't we just spend the night on this world? That way we can be fully charged tomorrow!"

Venxik sat down again, his crimson cloak billowed out behind him and he said, "Fine, we will spend the night here" He looked over at Raynx "and take a few hearts."

Raynx' face brightened at the thought of stealing some local hearts. After all, he hadn't done that ever since he became a Heartless, thanks to Venxik. He realized something, as he looked at the other three, regardless of whether they were Heartless, or if they weren't Heartless, they were still only young teenagers, and that suit him perfectly.

They all fell asleep some hours later. Everyone smiled contentedly in their unconsciousness, thinking about what was to come the following day.

* * *

"Uhm, Merlin. Did I hear you right? You are teaching me **magic**?" Kevin asked the old man. 

Merlin stroked his beard thoughtfully and said "Yes my boy, you are learning magic, now follow me."

He got a small stool and stepped on it. He reached his hand into one of his blue sleeves and pulled out a thing magic wand. He waved it and a thin brick platform slowly descended from the ceiling, he grunted as he climbed onto it and Kevin followed him onto the platform.

Merlin coughed as he breathed in the dust in the hidden room. It had not been touched since Merlin had first moved into this house, and made it HBRC headquarters.

He looked at Kevin and said "Now, come here I have to show you something."

He waved his wand and a crystal ball, the same size as a watermelon appeared in front of the two. Merlin tapped it experimentally with his palm, and it glowed a bright blue.

He nodded happily and said, "Kevin, I want you to put your outstretched palm on top of that crystal ball. It is a special magical artefact that will show you what kind of elemental magic you are strongest with by showing you the color that represents that element. If it glows green, than it means your strongest element would be cure, if it is blue, blizzard, if it is yellow, you will be best with thunder, if it is red, your power will reside in fire."

Kevin took a quick peak at a piece of paper that Merlin was holding. It said exactly what he said about the colors and how the relate to the elements. He sighed and put his hand on the orb.

As his hand made contact with the orb, there was a small surge of energy that passed through his hand and the orb began to glow several colors and hummed softly. Kevin felt his palm warm up and he was about to lift it up when Merlin put his hand on Kevin's shoulder firmly.

Kevin kept his hand on the glowing orb, slowly the swirling colors started to fade, starting with a deep purple, moving onto black, and the colors continued to fade until only two colors left, grey and yellow. The two swirled around each other until the yellow absorbed the grey, leaving the orb a warm yellow shade. He lifted his hand up, and felt a small spark of energy pass between his hand and the orb and he looked at the orb with a confused stare.

Kevin looked up at the old wizard and asked, "What just happened?"

Merlin chuckled full heartedly and said, "My boy, the orb has shown you what elemental magic is strongest within you. Apparently, you are strongest with thunder magic. That spark that flowed from between your hand and the orb was the thunder magic inside of you awakening. The grey however is something I have ever seen. I am not sure what element it represents. You could discuss it with Mickey; he has travelled far more, and may know what it is about. For now however, I believe we should start teaching you how to cast thunder magic."

Merlin walked to the centre of the room and cleared his throat. He waved his hand a small crackle resounded around the room. Kevin walked up to Merlin and the old man said, "First off, I will be teaching you how to call upon the simplest form of thunder magic. Just hold you outstretched palm to the sky, if you don't have a weapon that is, and say thunder! It is as easy as that!"

Kevin nodded and did what he was told. "THUNDER!"

A thick bolt of lightning flew down to Kevin from the sky, but did no apparent damage to the roof above his head. Kevin gasped and looked around himself, the room around him was perfectly in tact, and the only sign of damage was the scorch mark around his feet on the brick floor.

Merlin stared; dumbfounded at the strength of the spell Kevin has just used and said "What amazing power! That thunder spell was brilliant! Please explain how you got it to be so powerful."

Kevin stared at his right hand, which was used to summon the thunderbolt, and said

"I don't know, all I did was focus on the magic being strong, and it happened."

Merlin stroked his beard thoughtfully and said, "Well my lad, I believe you can try to go to the next level of thunder magic. See that chair over there? Focus on that and call upon the spell again."

Kevin looked at the crudely made chair Merlin was talking about, and concentrated on that one object. He shot his hand into the air again and yelled "THUNDER!" A smaller bolt hit the chair, and impaled it, and after the dust cleared, there was only a smoldering pile of wood chips.

Merlin chuckled and looked at the boy.

"So, I see that you learned how to control the levels of your magic already. Yes, with such quick learning, I am not surprised whatsoever that your element is thunder."

_This boy is simply amazing, he learned right away how to control the strength of his spell!_

Merlin looked at the boy happily and said "I believe your training is done for today, rest and eat, then report to Leon, he has a surprise for you."

Kevin nodded and smiled and stood on the stone platform as it lowered him down.

* * *

After a long day of taking people's hearts and destroying worlds, the small group of four found themselves in a strange mansion, in a world covered in perpetual twilight. 

Venxik stretched and said "Now THIS is a place I want to live! It is almost shrouded in complete darkness already!"

He swung around as he heard the pair of large, oak doors that lead into the mansion creak open and saw a teenage girl with shoulder length, red hair pop her head in, the small freckles on her cheeks showing. She saw them standing together in the middle of the room. Venxik sprang forward, two Invisible's swords in his hands and he held them at her throat.

"Hi there little girl, I hope you don't mind losing your heart!"

She glared at her attacker and she said, all too calmly "I am flattered, but I don't think you're my type."

She waved her hands in complex patterns, and was careful to avoid the twin swords at her throat. A small heat began to form on her hands, and she sent two sky blue balls of fire into Venxik's face. He roared in pain and fell back, Axdrane dashed to his side, and she caught him before he hit the ground. He pushed her back and stood up.

"That was foolish mistake you brat!"

He looked into her eyes, seeing the hatred that was deep within her heart. It was filled with so much rage it almost seemed dark. He let her go. This girl was going to be very useful to their plans. He spun the Invisible sword in his right hand and plunged it into her chest.

"Now! Surrender to the darkness and join us!"

Large gouts of darkness escaped from her and she fell to the floor and started to cough violently. In no time, her body had disappeared and all that was left was a floating pink heart, which morphed into a girl that had the same red hair, bright green eyes and a black dress, that was torn in ways so that she could move freely.

Venxik looked at her and blushed.

"What is your name?"

She smiled at him with a goofy grin and said, "My name is Ashlee, what is yours?"

His face grew crimson (Which, might I add is quite a feat for a Heartless like him, seeing as how his face is pretty much colorless) which prompted Axdrane and the new Heartless Ashlee to giggle violently. Raynx looked at the scene, with the blushing 'leader' and the giggling girls and just turned around and slumped his shoulders. Xunahs just looked at Axdrane, a drunken smile was spread across his face. Obviously Venxik wasn't the only person in the room that was smitten.

Venxik cleared his throat and got the girls' attention and said, "Ashlee, you should have a new name so that you fit with us better. Your name should be Leashex, it fits with your spell weaving, doesn't it?"

He thought about how much pain those twin fire balls had caused him and shivered.

Axdrane started jumping up and down excitedly and squealed "Yay! We have a new member! This way I won't be the only girl with a group of slobbering trollish guys!"

Leashex just laughed and said "Yeah, lucky you… Now I'm the new one!"

Raynx just continued glaring at the ground, as if it had done him some wrong in the past. There was a loud crash in a nearby room and Raynx sprung into action, if there was something going on, he wanted to see it, after all anything would be better than being with the giggling nimrods behind him. He came to a sudden halt as a person appeared in front of him, wearing an Organization XIII cloak, with the hood drawn.

Raynx just smirked and said "The Organization still lives? That's kinda interesting isn't it?"

Dreggan appeared in his hand and he charged at the individual, who jumped aside and lashed out with his fists.

_What the hell, doesn't he have a weapon?_

He charged back at Raynx, and leaped over him and attempted to strike at his head, much like the dusks would. He easily blocked the attacks and sent a barrage of stabs and swings at the Nobody, who just as easily blocked them with some sort of armored wrist guards.

Xunahs watched as his brother fought the Nobody and yelled "You go bro!"

Raynx just sighed and said to his attacker, "Brothers, always a pain… Y'know?"

The attacker didn't make any moves, just stood still as if Raynx had said nothing, which of course, annoyed the Heartless, who jumped at him and swung Dreggan madly at his head. The Nobody ducked and smashed Raynx' chest with the left arm, and tripped him with the right leg. Raynx held out Dreggan with his left hand and had its tip just a few inches away from the Nobody's shoulder and pressed a small button that was on the swords hilt and the blade shot out a foot and impaled his attacker's shoulder. The Nobody gasped and shivered as the blade was extracted, it was now four feet long and blood stained.

Raynx stretched out his right arm, and a ball of dark energy started to form in its palm. The ball started to hum and Raynx pulled his arm back, and threw his arm in front of him, at a very high speed and sent the ball of darkness flying right for the stunned Nobody.

* * *

A young girl, about 15 in age was walking through the rubble of Radiant Garden's bailey. A small breeze blew through the area, which slightly ruffled her white night dress, and her shoulder length blonde hair moved so that it covered most of her face. Impatiently, she brushed the hair away, and when it was moved, a large, red, bell shaped Heartless was in front of her, a red ring appeared around it, and the heat around her began to get warmer and warmer. 

She tried to run away, but behind her were smaller versions of the larger Heartless. Fire balls appeared over their heads and soon a loud whirring noise was heard all around the girl. Clutching at the sides of her head, she dropped to the ground, and the Heartless advanced on her. The heat grew, and she felt scared, realizing that this was most likely the end, but she felt the heat go away, she heard the familiar sound of Heartless vanishing and looked up to see another girl, who had short, black hair and large, oval eyes. She was throwing a large ninja star, which swung around the Heartless, and destroying them instantly if they were touched.

Soon, the Heartless were gone, and the girl brushed her star off and helped the smaller girl wearing the white dress up.

"Hiya! I am the Great Ninja Yuffie! Who are you?" The taller girl asked, the smaller girl whispered "Namine, thank you Yuffie."

Yuffie gasped as she saw the burns that they both had and said, "We better get back to the house, Aerith can heal these lousy burns when we get there!"

Namine looked at the older girl and wondered, _Is this girl nuts?

* * *

_

After a hearty meal and a hot shower, Kevin was back in the main room of Merlin's house. He looked at a sword that had a black hilt, and was in a leather sheath. He approached the blade, and heard someone yell "KEVIN!" He looked at the source of the noise, and saw Andrea, who was previously sitting with a girl who had numerous bandages around her legs and face and wore a white night dress.

"Hey Andrea, glad to see you're finally up." Kevin smiled, and then quickly asked "Who is that girl over there?"

The girl stood up and brushed her night dress with her hands and said "My name is Namine, I am a Nobody, like you. I heard Mickey telling Andrea about her being a Nobody, and your world being taken away, I know you, but you probably don't know me."

Kevin looked at her for a moment and thought, _She __**does**__ look familiar, but where have I seen her before? _

Namine smiled politely and said "That sword on the table was left there by Leon, he wants Mickey to take you to the castle postern when you're ready, and Andrea and I are coming to watch."

Kevin nodded and took the sword and unsheathed it a bit. The blade was extremely shiny, it seemed to be silver, and it reflected the light beautifully. He looked at the hilt with better detail, and noticed that there were small yellow gemstones imbedded in it.

Merlin appeared before them in a puff of smoke and said "Those gemstones will multiply the strength of a thunder spell you use! I have to test Andrea and see what element she is strongest with. Andrea, could you come?"

Andrea's mouth gaped open and she said "But I was going to watch Kevin!"

Merlin sighed and said "Fine, go ahead and watch Kevin bash metal sticks with Leon. I always thought it was stupid. Anyways, you go and talk to Mickey, he is outside waiting for you."

Kevin walked outside with Andrea and Namine, after saying thank you to the old wizard and met up with the small king.

"Hiya guys! Are you ready to go? We need to make a quick stop in town before we move on to the tower postern. Is that okay?"

Kevin, who wanted to spar with Leon was near the point of bouncing with anticipation, but said "Yeah... Fine..." His eyes brightened up "Only if the girls don't mind, that is!"

Andrea and Namine giggled at Kevin's attempt to skip the trip into town and Andrea said

"Nah, it's okay, me and Namine want to watch Kevin and Leon fight!"

Mickey's ears drooped and he said "Fine, let's go."

* * *

Well, that's the end of the chapter! So many questions going unsaid... Who was the mysterious attacker, and what is his fate? What will be the result of Kevin's and Leon's duel? I know, and I think most of you do... But read and review anyways because it's kind! On another note, I reached 3000 words on this chapter! Woo! 


	5. Awakening

To my reviewers:

Alisyn Coleman: Thanks! Yeah, it does get kind of confusing when two different people's dialogues are in the same sentence, Chapter four was a bit rushed, I think. That is my excuse and I am sticking to it.

SkyLandOcean: Ha-ha… Frazzle... Anyways, I liked electricity ever since I learned of the miracle of static electricity. As for Andrea, we will have to wait… Won't we? The group of heroes in the story isn't complete yet; there are still two more people that have yet to join our group! Moose indeed.

FireStorm Studios: The Heartless Organization… They are probably the most effective fictional villains I have come up with yet, as for demonry… You ain't seen nothin' yet! Thunder magic… Oh yes… It will really develop as the worlds continue, and it will get a lot cooler, about two worlds down the road (It is already pre-written on paper)

SauronBane: I can't really "quote" you if you don't review here… Right? I might be wrong… But I think I am pretty damn right!

A quick note: I kinda hit a bump with this chapter, so of course it took a while to update, but lets be thankful that it didn't take as long as the nefarious third chapter! (2 months ftw?)

* * *

Chapter Five:

Awakening

A young girl lay unconscious in the back alley of Traverse Town, possibly no older than Sora when he woke in that same spot a year and a half ago. She groaned and rubbed her head, luckily she wasn't bleeding, but, for some reason, she felt different. She stood up, a bit light headed and looked around herself to see strange dark brick walls, nothing like where she was before she fell unconscious.

Wait a second, where was she before she went unconscious? She heard an odd whooshing noise and saw a weird silver and black thing fly by her head, and strange black creatures with giant amber orbs for eyes and long waving antennae looked at her, from the ground she was standing on. She gasped as she suddenly remembered where these creatures were. She got a head rush as many memories came to her head from ten years ago.

"_Janet! Take her into the house! Those monsters are coming back for the third wave!" her father yelled at her mom. She was only five years old at the time, and the creatures… The Heartless were attacking her quiet village, trying to take the lives of the people for their own dark reasons. The Heartless had already overthrown their king, and every other kingdom around their own. She remembered that she was crying, as her mother tripped, and dropped her on the ground. She only got a small knee scrape, but the fact that she was hurt wasn't making her cry. It was seeing as her mother began to disappear. In Janet's place, all of a sudden was a strange creature, like the many that were surrounding her right now. It lunged at her as she screamed in sheer terror. There was an explosion, she felt the heat wash over herself, and then everything went black._

She looked at the Heartless surrounding her now, disgust plain on her face. The small Heartless surrounding her jumped at her all of a sudden.

She only glared, and whispered "Not now, not ever again."

She waved her hand, a blue flame following it around, turning into somewhat of a flaming whip, it swung around her, cleaving the Heartless in two, while they were in midair. More of them came out of the walls and the ground, and effectively began to swarm her once more. She growled and began spinning and lashing out at the Heartless as they jumped at her.

Ducking, weaving, rolling, striking out, it was a dance of death. Soon the Heartless began to back away and were hissing at her, they were retreating. The blue fire she held in her hand expanded and she threw it into the midst of the Heartless, killing them all instantly.

She slumped against the wall and felt extremely dizzy. She lumbered her way out of the alley, and soon found herself facing the door of a store. She pushed open the door, seeing a rather overweight lady, wearing expensive jewellery.

The woman turned around to see the new customer and said cheerfully, "Hello! Welcome to Traverse Town Accessories! Oh my! Young lady, are you okay?"

She jumped over the counter, with amazing speed for someone of her age and size, and ran to the now unconscious, crimson haired girl. She took her pulse and gasped. There was none.

* * *

Kevin walked behind Mickey, with Namine and Andrea on either side of him.

"So King Mickey," Kevin asked, as he jumped over the gap in between the stairs of the ruined bailey "how far do we have to go?"

Mickey gave his small chuckle and said "When we get to that tower at the end of this road."

He pointed up to the large, copper colored tower that was indeed at the end of the long, winding path ahead of them. Kevin drew his sword out of its sheath (Dear God, he loved it so much) and did a few experimental swings, careful to avoid the girls and the king. Surprisingly, it was very light.

He noticed as the king and the girls were now ahead of them. He quickened to a jog, but lost them as they went around the corner. He heard a strange whirring noise and saw several odd creatures that were about his height and wore an odd helmet as well as two clawed gauntlets, almost like a metal version of the one he used on the Islands. Two of them shivered and jumped, and began spinning in circles towards him.

As they got close to him, he ducked, and watched as they collided with the wall behind him. He almost laughed; they obviously didn't seem that smart. Of course, stupid him forgot the other five that surrounded him and felt as their claws sunk into his arms, legs and back. He yelled in pain and everything went black.

* * *

Mickey, Andrea and Namine turned around as they heard Kevin yell. A strange, gold and silver key-shaped weapon appeared in Mickey's hand and he ran down the hill to where Kevin was. When he disappeared, Namine quickly ran after him, and Andrea started to run to, but was tripped by a rock.

Five floating creatures that wore flowing robes that covered most of their bodies, the only revealed part was their faces, which were black. Just like the creature that had attacked her and Kevin on the raft. In their robed hands was a book. They glowed blue and sent balls of ice at her.

She began shivering violently and collapsed. Mickey and Namine came back, taking care of the Heartless that attacked Kevin, Mickey and Namine both struggling to carry the unconscious Nobody.

Mickey saw Andrea, also unconscious, and shivering and squeaked, "Quick! Namine, go find Leon!"

Namine nodded and ran up the hill to get Leon, while Mickey stood in front of the two Nobodies and held his Keyblade ready.

* * *

Kevin woke, lying face down on a stained glass platform. He stood up and looked down to see Kairi, Sora, Riku, and Mickey, as well as three blacked out people standing in the middle, each holding a strange weapon that met with the other weapons at the points.

As he walked to the center of the platform, a beam of light enveloped him. There was a voice, that was loud and commanding and it said, "Kevin, your heart may be gone, but its light has remained with you. Your sense of righteousness is a gift. You know what is right, and what is wrong, and you follow what you know is right with a passion. We believe that you are the newest person worthy of wielding a Keyblade. There is another that is also ready, and is facing the test as we speak. Now, which will you choose?"

The beam of light split into three separate beams and went to a corner of the platform. The beams disappeared and a pedestal, which was under the ray of light, rose up to the surface. There was a flash of light, and an item appeared on each pedestal. A sword, a shield and a wand. Kevin looked at the sword, walked towards it and picked it up.

He was surprised at how light it was, even lighter than the sword Leon had given him. In a flash of light, it disappeared and was replaced by an odd looking weapon, shaped like the seven the others had wielded. This one however, had an eerie resemblance to the weapon the last shaded figure held.

It had a key chain dangling from its grip; on the end was a dark grey cloud with bright yellow thunderbolts coming out of the bottom. The grip itself had a circular border, which was shaped like a dark grey cloud. Out of the circle, rose a blade that resembled a lightning bolt and had three small tornados sticking out at the opposite end.

He looked at the weapon with a very confused look and the voice came back and said, "That, my child is a Keyblade. It contains an unfathomable light that can overcome any darkness if used properly. You have been chosen by us to take on the threat the Heartless pose in the absence of the other wielders. Your journey from here on out will be dangerous and filled with unexpected twists and turns. If you accept this responsibility, life may never be the same again. Do you wish to accept this task?"

Kevin grinned slightly and said, "Yes, I will accept."

* * *

Andrea woke on a green, stained glass platform that showed Kevin, Sora, Riku, Kairi and her, all lying side by side on the beach, with the tide enveloping their feet. She sighed as she recognized that scene; it was shortly after her thirteenth birthday. She stared at the image for what seemed like hours and finally a voice sounded through the area and snapped Andrea out of her dream-like state.

"Andrea, you may no longer have a heart, but you still contain a brilliant light. You can make the good of any situation appear and will protect those you care for at the risk of your own life."

Andrea nodded and smiled contentedly. After all, that did sound like her.

A light washed over her, and split into three different beams, which went to different corners of the platform. Up rose three pedestals. She looked at the three items on it: a sword, a shield and a wand. She walked towards the shield and picked it up.

It disappeared in her hands and was replaced by an odd weapon that appeared to have a key chain dangling from its grip. The thing on the end of the chain was a light blue crystal with random spikes sticking out of it. The weapon itself had a blade that was translucent like ice, and at the end was a large, white snowflake.

Andrea looked at it with an obviously confused stare and the voice repeated what he (Andrea had assumed it was a male, considering the tone of the voice) had said to Kevin.

"Of course I accept!" Andrea replied. A smile spreading across her face. This is probably the coolest thing that could ever happen, after all.

Andrea heard an ear splitting crack, and noticed that the glass was shattering, and the destruction was closing in on her. She felt the glass buckle under her and she fell into the dark depths below her. All the way down, she was screaming

"Show us your skill, Keybearers."

* * *

Kevin looked up, and his jaw hung as he saw Andrea plummeting down towards him. He ran under where Andrea was going to land and caught her. He placed her down, and she appeared to be unhurt and saw the weapon in her hand. A Keyblade.

He smiled slyly and said, "So, I guess you got a Keyblade too! Welcome to the club!"

Andrea punched him playfully in the arm and the voice once again said "You must know how to defend yourselves against the Heartless. I trust you know how to use a sword."

Andrea blushed. All she ever did was watch Kevin, Riku and Sora fought with the wooden weapons on the islands. All she and Kairi ever did was stand back and cheer them on.

Kevin stepped up and said, "Andrea doesn't, but I think she could pick up how to soon enough." He winked at her

Andrea sighed, she knew that wink, it usually meant that Kevin had some stupid plan in store.

The voice laughed and said, "Just like her… Fine, if you see it's what you should do."

Several Shadow Heartless came out of the ground around them and began to dance excitedly. One decided to lead the attack and jumped at Andrea. She lifted her Keyblade and it made contact and froze instantly. Kevin ducked under another Shadow and stabbed his Keyblade straight up and impaled it. As it faded, Andrea twirled and threw its fading body at another shadow, which knocked it off the edge.

Kevin high-fived her and said "Nice one!" She laughed happily and smacked another Shadow on the head, which was followed by a slash down the length of its body. It also faded, and Kevin raised his Keyblade and yelled "Thunder!" Several bolts came down and destroyed the remaining Shadows.

"Good job, you did well." The voice was different now, it seemed feminine, and left the two feeling somewhat drowsy, like a lullaby. "Andrea, I would like to see how you can handle the Heartless by yourself."

A segment of the platform separated from under Kevin's feet, and raised him above the ground. The glass that it replaced came back and seven Shadows came out of the platform and surrounded Andrea.

She summoned her Keyblade again and charged at the Heartless; she was doing pretty well considering that she never really ever fought before. Ice crystals began to form around her Keyblade, and without even thinking, she yelled "Blizzard!" the crystals grew and spread out and impaled three of the Heartless. Two of them jumped up behind her, and she spun around, bringing her Keyblade around and cleaving both of them in two.

She heard Kevin cheering from the platform "WAHOO! GO ANDREA!"

She smiled from his cheering and jumped at the other two, and finished them off with blizzard at point blank range.

Kevin jumped off of the platform and said, "You did awesome!" "Indeed." Said another voice, this one was male, it sounded more commanding than the first voice they had heard. "Andrea, obviously your prowess with weapons isn't as bad as you thought. I had my hunches, and the fact that you used blizzard only proves my theory. Good job Andrea!"

"Are you ready to continue in your training? Kevin, it's your turn to show us your skills alone."

Kevin nodded and smiled happily, and seven Shadows appeared around him as Andrea was raised above ground on the platform.

"You can do it!" Andrea shouted.

Kevin nodded, and jumped at the first Shadow and drove his Keyblade through its head. It disappeared and two others jumped at him. He formed a lightning ball in his hand and shot it at the first one, and kicked the other one away. He pulled out the Keyblade and quickly dashed at the other ones and slashed through two of them. The last one quivered and jumped at him. He charged his Keyblade with an electrical current and impaled it. It shook violently and exploded.

Andrea jumped off the platform, landing the same as Kevin did.

She ran up and said, "That was great!" The lullaby voice started talking and said, "I agree, that was great. I am very surprised that you were able to control the thunder magic so well. It was almost as good as someone I once knew a long time ago. Anyways, Kevin, Andrea, are you ready to take on your final challenge?"

Kevin and Andrea nodded and a set of stairs appeared in front of them, leading to the next platform, from where they were, they could tell that it was red. That was it, however. Kevin and Andrea ran up the stairs, and heard them shatter behind them. They quickened their pace, and held their Keyblades in their hands, ready to take on what ever waited for them to come.

They arrived on a platform that was washed in a bright light. The platform they were on appeared to be almost like a lake of blood. Kevin and Andrea looked around themselves, and saw that they could see their own shadows. The light lowered, and their shadows began taking a shape of their own. Soon, they were facing dark clones of themselves. One, the clone of Kevin, held a giant, blood red rapier; it was easily as large as the radius of the platform. Andrea's clone had a giant pair of blood red wings, and a furious snarl on her face. Darkness erupted around them, and they charged at each other.

There was a darkness that seeped over the arena like a black mist and a giant, demonic-looking Heartless stood in front of them. It was easily larger than a three story building, and it held a rapier, much like the one Kevin's clone had, as well as the pair of wings Andrea's had.

It flew up, and screeched. The lullaby voice chimed in again and said "Meet Blood Lust, a demon Heartless. Fighting him is your final test."

It spread out its wings, and pointed its rapier at Kevin, and started its decent.

* * *

Author's Note: I feel that I may have left some of the chapter out, but I also feel that it's complete... How odd! Well everyone, this chapter is over, and fyi: Blood Lust is my most favourite original Heartless of all time (My own creation, if I am not mistaken.) It is a mix of Invisible and Darkside in a way. Which would probably make it the ultimate Heartless in a way xD. For those of you that didn't realize, Andrea's element is Ice, and the next chapter should end nicely. Sorry for not including Venxik and Co. I just kinda forgot about them, and I really want to finish this chapter. They will appear in the next chapter, of course! 


	6. Darkness and Keyblades

To my reviewers:

Everyone: Holy cow! I am blown away that this chapter was liked so darn much!

Jazmyn: I was in a rush to finish the chapter, so it was not without its errors (and when is anything without errors?)

Does this sound familiar? UUUUUUUUPPPPPPPPDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!

Firestorm Studios: Yeah, I was particularly proud of the fight scenes in this chapter, glad you liked them! I was having a hard time thinking about how to fit in the Heartless, but I remembered a promise I made last week. So I can get around it. I am pretty sure you may like this part

SauronBane: Yay! I was awesome! (That is really all I can say)

SkyLandOcean: Glad it was descriptive, once again; I was worried that I had rushed it too much.

Author's Note: I think I said it all in the reviewer replies, so without further adieu, time to start this! **Warning: First part is somewhat mushy

* * *

**

Chapter Six: Darkness and Keyblades

The two lovers sat on a bench, facing the magenta of the falling sunset. He leaned over and kissed her cheek.

"Happy first anniversary, Lochit. I love you." He said, and she giggled and said "You too, Tom" and returned his kiss.

They were too busy in their hug to notice the teen walk up behind them.

"Hey, can I butt in for a sec?" He asked.

Tom jumped up and looked at the other person in the eyes, and noticed the sword in his hand.

"Lochit, get behind me."

She got behind him, and looked at the boy, the Heartless symbol was plain on his pale chest. Was he really a Heartless? She noticed his hair and almost gagged, great, a green haired, punk Heartless.

"My name is Xunahs, glad to meet you. Our leader, Venxik, needs your hearts. Mind standing still so it doesn't hurt that much?"

He jumped at the couple, sword ready to strike. Tom pushed Lochit out of the way, and rolled to the side. Xunahs turned around and launched himself at Tom, obviously intent on killing. Tom jumped to the side and grabbed Xunahs' arm and ripped the sword out of his hand.

Xunahs looked at him, obviously, he was shocked, and so was Lochit. She had never seen him fight this way before.

Xunahs smirked and said "Good to see that there is a good fighter here, all the hearts I stole were from weak people and cowards."

He jerked his thumb towards the horizon, and Tom and Lochit gasped as they saw the horizon, and the water below it fade into darkness. It was almost as if the world were disintegrating.

Xunahs stood up and brushed himself off "Be happy, you two are the last surviving inhabitants of this doomed world."

Several odd, green and purple, bell shaped Heartless appeared around him. They rammed into each other, and another sword, just like the one in Tom's hand materialized in front of Xunahs and he grabbed it.

Xunahs jumped once again at Tom and swung his sword, ready to kill. Tom raised the sword he stole and blocked the attack, and used the force of it to fling Xunahs over the edge of the cliff.

Tom threw his sword over, and ran over to Lochit and embraced her. She returned his embrace, and she made a feral grin. Ice shards made form the moisture in the air flowed to her hand to form a dagger, and she stabbed it into Tom's back, and through his heart.

He fell, his body convulsing in pain, and he looked up at Lochit. She looked different; her hair was white as snow, her dress equally as white and ice crystals floated lazily around her.

"Lochit, why?" He coughed.

She looked at him disdain plain on her face and she turned around. Tom began to yell as darkness seeped out from his wound, the pain was almost unbearable. Lochit sobbed and launched the ice crystals at Tom, ending his pain.

A heart floated above Tom, and his body vaporized into a dark mist. The heart changed into a teen with dark, tanned skin. His hair was a pale-silvery colour, and he wore a camouflage suit and pants.

Xunahs rose up over the edge, using both swords as picks.

"Good job Xochitl." He mumbled.

She flipped her hair over her shoulder and said, "Yeah, whatever, I knew you wouldn't take him. After all, this is Aeleus' brother."

Tom smirked and stretched out his right arm. Stones formed around his hand to make a giant axe-like weapon.

"Wanna go another round, Xunahs?" He said, the smirk turning into an amused grin.

Xunahs sighed and said "No, not now. We have to get going back to HQ, Xochitl, can you show him the way?"

She nodded and said, "Follow me Somaxth."

Tom looked confused as he followed her through the portal, but quickly realized his name was Somaxth.

_This is something I could get used to.

* * *

_

Venxik paced around the room. This castle was going to serve him well. He walked into a small room that has twelve memorial-like structures; each had a red light under them. He walked to one that read "The Key to Destiny" and continued walking down. He liked this castle, it would suit him perfectly.

Axdrane appeared in front of him and said "Sir, Xunahs finished off that world, and found another capable of joining our ranks." Venxik smiled and said "Good, bring them here."

He went out of the passageway and was standing on a balcony; he looked up at the night sky and saw a Wyvern Heartless fighting off a Sorcerer Nobody. He watched as the magical blocks ground up the Heartless and laughed wickedly as several more Wyverns tore apart the Nobody with teeth and claws.

Somaxth, Xochitl and Xunahs appeared behind Venxik and bowed. He turned around and said "Somaxth, I take it. And it is a pleasure to meet you as well, Xochitl. I trust your journey was safe? Welcome to the start of our domination - I hope you two are ready to take a leading role amongst as the future rulers over the other two races, and all others who oppose us!"

More Sorcerers surrounded the Wyverns, which started a large brawl, the Wyverns shrieks filling the air. Venxik, now annoyed by the squabbling, summoned two Invisibles to finish off the Sorcerers and he continued.

"I trust you will like your accommodations, just go to the basement and find the room you would like to keep."

They bowed and left. Two Soldier Heartless appeared in front of him, one was bearing a torn up letter. Venxik took it and read it.

He smirked and said "How… Amusing…"

* * *

Kevin and Andrea jumped out of the way, he shot lightning balls, and she shot icicles. Blood Lust screeched in pain as the projectiles connected and spun around, the force of the movement made a wind that pushed the two Keybearers back. It threw the rapier into the ground, and darkness exploded out of it. Several Shadows came out of the ground and charged at the two. Andrea pointed her outstretched palm at the oncoming Heartless and yelled "BLIZZARD!"

Icicles shot out and destroyed the small Heartless. Blood Lust screeched and waved its hand. Darkness enveloped the rapier, and shot the weapon back into the giant Heartless' hand. It tucked in its waves and pointed the rapier at Andrea this time and did a dive bomb. Kevin shoved her out of the way and yelled in pain as the blade grazed his arm.

Darkness seeped out of the opening and he began to feel dizzy. Blood Lust crashed through the platform and the three of them began hurtling into the black abyss below. Blood Lust turned around and spread out its wings, which stopped it immediately, and a giant red wave hit Kevin and Andrea and sent them hurtling upwards.

Kevin felt as the attacked ripped at him more and cut him further. He was in severe agony. Andrea saw that and rotated in mid air so that she was facing the demon Heartless. She stretched out her Keyblade and did an odd lunging motion that made her move downwards.

As she continued to fall, the velocity began to build and a red orb appeared in Blood Lust's mouth. Ice crystals formed around Andrea and began to shoot downwards, striking the Heartless repeatedly. It reared back and shrieked in pain. Andrea was only a few yards in pain, and the shrieks were beginning to get unbearable. Her Keyblade made contact with the chest of the Heartless and shot right through. The shrieks stopped, the Heartless exploded and the darkness completely enveloped the two.

* * *

Kevin and Andrea woke on the brick floor of Merlin's house. Both seemed to be pale and very uncoordinated.

They looked at each other and Kevin asked, "Did that really happen?"

"Only one way to find out." She replied.

They stretched out their right hands, and their respective Keyblades appeared in their hands. Leon, Aerith, Yuffie and Mickey walked into the door, each carrying a bag of medicine.

Yuffie dropped her bag and gasped, "Oh my god!"

The other's reactions were similar and Kevin and Andrea began to explain what took place after they were attacked.

* * *

Warning: Random Stupidity Ahead!

"Well, it appears you really DO need training now, Kevin." Leon said, still kind of amazed by Kevin holding a Keyblade in his hand.

"Yeah right, Squall, you just want to train with him so you can fight another Keybearer and feel bigger after getting your ass handed to you by Sora!" Yuffie chirped.

Kevin choked on his Sprite and Andrea just laughed. Soon, the rest of the room was laughing, except for Leon, who had a red face. Yep, Yuffie embarrassed him all right.

"Well you two, go outside and wait, I just need to grab my weapon and I will be out there with you." Leon said, waving his hand as if he were dismissing the two.

Andrea's eyes widened and she squealed, "You mean, I am fighting too?"

Leon nodded and said "Sure, why not? After all, you will need all the help you can get."

Yuffie snorted and started laughing in a high-pitched, shrill voice. As it would seem, she got a hold of the sugary beverage that was once Kevin's. Sadly enough, for the sugar high ninja, she laughed too hard and a stream of foam flew out of her nose and she began yelling "Oh sweet god! The pain! The freaking pain!"

There was a loud crash and a young girl with bright red hair jumped into the room, a cloud of dust coming from the floor above. She rushed to Yuffie's side and gave her a pill.

Yuffie stopped laughing almost instantly and said "Thanks, Tahlia."

The girl smiled cutely and ran back upstairs, there was yet another crash, and things returned back to normal. (Which also means that the stupidity is over)

Stupidity Over

* * *

Kevin and Andrea left the house, being sure to look behind them to make sure that Yuffie was not going to suddenly jump at them and they saw Namine.

"Hey you too!" She said, she seemed happy to see them, and relieved they were awake.

She moved to a corner to give Kevin and Andrea some room, and Leon came out of the house, with a large gun-shaped sword in his hand.

He held it in a defensive position and asked, "Are we ready?"

* * *

Author's Note:

The whole Yuffie and the pop thing was based on something that happened with me at school the other day, and trust me… It was weird. Also, this chapter was short, but I still liked it!

Character Bios:

Tom: A teenager in his first year of relationship with Lochit, whom he deems as his bride to be. He is shows great strength and was able to take on Xunahs on equal footing and win. He has an apparently powerful cousin known as Aeleus.

Lochit: A teenager in her first year of relation ship with Tom, whom she deems as her husband to be. She loves Tom with a deep passion and will stand by his side no matter what.

Somaxth: The Heartless of Tom. His element is earth. He has proven already that he knows how to manipulate the rocks and stones, seeing as how he was able to morph the stones into a axe-like weapon. He has an apparently powerful cousin known as Aeleus.

Xochitl: The Heartless of Lochit. Her element is ice. She has proven already that she knows how to use her element masterfully, seeing as how she was able to freeze water particles in the air to form a small dagger. Her main weapon is an ice staff that is made using this same method. Even though she has turned Heartless, she has proven to still have strong feelings for Somaxth.

Blood Lust: A demon Heartless that was once sealed away many millennia ago. It was reborn from the darkness that Venxik had spread across the worlds. It has a pair of massive wings and a rapier, and somehow knows magic that has relation to blood.


	7. Traverse Town

Author's Note: Last chapter did have its randomness, yes it did… Oh well, I like to have fun with it; a story is never good without occasional humor!

Alisyn Coleman: Thanks for the review! What you typed made enough sense for me to understand it. Anyways, the chapter had its randomness, which was inspired by amazing tiredness. Abrupt randomness is better by far!

Firestorm Studios: Yep, drama… What every story needs, anyways, thanks for the review! The story will get more intense as secrets of the history and different characters are brought in and go.

Before we go: This chapter will be pretty mellow, but enjoy the chapter none the less!

Chapter Eight: Traverse Town

* * *

Leon hoisted his sword onto his back and asked, "So, are you two ready to take me and the Gunblade on?"

His face showed a confident grin, and Andrea and Kevin summoned their Keyblades. Kevin felt a small surge of energy flow through his arms and he heard a voice, that was not familiar, but seemed like a voice he heard thousands of times before.

_Vortex._

He looked at his Keyblade and muttered "Vortex?"

Andrea's face showed the same confusion that he had and she looked over at him, her expression obviously asking, "Did you hear that too?"

Kevin nodded, confused by what just happened and he and Andrea charged at Leon, both Keyblades ready to strike.

Yuffie, Mickey, Merlin, Cid, Namine and Tahlia all stood by the wall and watched the three fights. There were cheers from the small group as strikes were exchanged, and soon a large crowd of people doing their daily chores came by to cheer on the two Keyblade wielding teens and their hero, Leon.

Leon jumped to the side as Andrea did a stab with her Keyblade (whose name, she revealed to Kevin as being named Frost). Kevin got to where Leon was going to land to and swung Vortex and made the warrior hit the ground, which got a loud cheer from the crowd of thirty.

Leon stood up and wiped the blood that had started to come off of his cracked lip and he said "Good manoeuvres, let's see how you can handle defending yourself!"

A fireball blossomed from the tip of his sword and he aimed it at Andrea. He swung the Gunblade and the fireball rushed towards Andrea. Making a split second decision, she swung Frost so that it cut through the flame. Steam erupted from the fireball, and it faded from existence. She formed a ball of ice, and shot it at Leon, the same way he shot the fire.

He ducked under it, and spun around so that the Gunblade connected with Kevin. A sharp pain went through his legs as the blade tripped him. He reached his hand out as the ground rushed towards him. When his hand made contact, he flipped forward and regained his balance on landing. They circled around, facing each other, waiting for the other to let down his guard.

Andrea was looking at the two and was beginning to get thoroughly bored. She gripped Frost, and ran at Leon.

As she lunged, ready to strike, Tahlia shouted "Leon! Behind you!"

Leon spun around and hit Andrea with the flat of his blade she flew back a bit, and landed carefully on the ground, and seemed unfazed. Kevin used the distraction to trip Leon by using a sweep kick. Leon landed flat on his back and Kevin put one foot on his chest and Vortex at his throat.

"I win." Kevin said, the triumphant smile plain on his face.

The cheering instantly stopped, many of the people in the crowd were in shock. Did this new kid **really** take down Radiant Garden's strongest warrior? Kevin got off of Leon, and Andrea walked over to his side and looked massively surprised. They helped Leon up and he shook their hands.

"Good job you two, I guess you don't need my help anymore."

The crowd dispersed and Merlin, Cid, Mickey and Tahlia crowded around them and congratulated Kevin and Andrea on a good fight, while Yuffie sang the "Leon got owned" song in the background.

Even though the entire crowd had left, there was a lone person, wearing a black cloak exactly like the one Organization XIII used to wear. He made a portal and turned around, clutching his right shoulder.

* * *

Raynx walked boredly through the halls of the Castle That Never Was, lazily destroying any Heartless or Nobody that happened to be near him. He found a room along the corridors that had an old, worn sign that said "**Warning: People that enter will be castrated.**" He saw a picture of a yellow kunai next to it and entered the room, completely ignoring the warning on it. Why would he care? Whoever had lived in the room would have been long since dead.

He heard a sharp _twang_ and jumped to the side as a swarm of yellow kunai flew in his direction, all of which were aimed dangerously closed to where it would have counted. He wiped the sweat off of his forehead and sighed. As evil as he was, he would not wish that upon even his worst enemy. He flopped down on the bed in the back of the room and closed his eyes, trying to figure out who the person that had attacked him in Twilight Town was.

_Flashback _

_He looked at the Nobody, and a grim smile crept across his mouth._

"_Damn, I missed."_

_The Nobody shuddered as the blade was slowly pulled out of his shoulder. Yet, he didn't say anything. This of course, frustrated Raynx._

_He grabbed the neck of the Nobody's coat and said, all too calmly "Who the hell are you?"_

_The Nobody didn't do anything for a second, just went limp. Didn't speak, didn't move. Just went limp. Raynx flinched as the Nobody ripped himself out of his grasp, and laid a powerful kick to Raynx' face. He went up into the air and came down on a painful landing. Xunahs yelled something, but at this point, he didn't care._

_The Nobody fired several dark blasts, in the hopes that he could keep Raynx at bay, seeing as how it didn't work, he made a portal escaped through it._

_End Flashback _

"The coward escaped by making a portal? It's obviously Venxik's damn fault for wanting an army of Heartless at his disposal. After all, Nobodies are made when a person with a strong heart loses it."

Suddenly, a thought flashed through his head. What if… He took over? He could destroy Venxik easily, even though he could sense that idiot Heartless' massive power, Venxik did not have the skill to manipulate it to its full extent. He stretched and yawned.

He was about to fall asleep when Xunahs burst into the room. He yelled in pain as several kunai were jabbed into his leg, luckily for him, none of them came close to hitting kahones.

He pulled them out; wincing as the blood began to trickle out of his legs, and feeling a sharp static shock go through his legs each time he pulled one out.

"Raynx, Venxik said that this is our new base of operations, I guess you already found yourself a new room."

Raynx grumbled something into his arm that sounded something along the lines of "Him first."

"Yes Xunahs, I already know about it… Why the hell would I be wandering the halls of this bright and stupid castle in the first place?"

Xunahs sighed and left the room; probably to get some more Axdrane scented lipstick on his cheeks. Raynx looked around the room, hoping to find something interesting. He watched as the yellow kunai rematerialized in the air, waiting for another foolish person to walk into the room and turned his attention to a dresser that was laid up against the wall of the room. He walked up to it and found a photo album on it. He opened it and flipped through the pages and found something very interesting.

"My dear god, it's Venxik! What the hell is he doing with that antennae haired girl?"

He looked at the picture a bit longer, and a large roller coaster behind them. The two were sharing a soda and Venxik's arm was draped around her shoulder, just as her arm was draped around his. He flipped the picture over and saw a caption.

"Fun at the carnival, '07"

His eyes scanned across it and he quickly stuffed the photo back into its place. He left the room, careful to avoid making the kunai getting sent loose and made a portal to Venxik.

* * *

Kevin sat in the living room of Merlin's house, drinking a celebratory two-litre bottle of Sprite for his battle against Leon. Andrea was drinking a smaller bottle of Coke and Aerith, Yuffie and Tahlia were upstairs, working on something. Kevin was looking at Leon and Mickey, who were having a conversation quietly on the bed and turned his head away quickly when Mickey looked up at him.

There was a crash and Tahlia came down the stairs, a falling cake close behind her. Yuffie and Aerith came down after her, acting as if it always happened (and judging by the many scrapes on Tahlia's hands and knees, it probably did). Yuffie jumped down and grabbed the cake before it splattered on her apprentice's head. After all, apprentices were ever so hard to come by.

She placed the cake on the table and sat down, Merlin, Cid, Leon and Mickey joined them, Aerith and Tahlia sat down and Tahlia started to drool as she looked at the cake. Kevin looked at the top of the triple-decker cake and saw the words "Congratulations Kevin and Andrea on beating Leon!"

He couldn't help but drool and was also waiting for a piece of the chocolate cake in front of him. Merlin waved his wand and a few plates and forks materialized in front of each of them, and a knife in his hand. Leon put the knife on top of the cake and began to slice.

When the knife had gone halfway through the first layer, darkness exploded from inside the cake and a shadow was standing on the choco-gooey crater. Tahlia looked at the cake in horror and ran into a corner and went into the fetal position and began gently rocking herself. Kevin picked up the Heartless and threw it out the door, and used thunder on it, and Yuffie and Aerith cleaned the icing off of their faces and off the faces of the others; Yuffie going faster than Aerith.

Kevin and Andrea went to Tahlia and brought her back to the table. When she sat down, the only thing she said was "The cake is a lie… The cake was a lie…" She almost sounded like she was possessed. She continued to rock in her chair and finally fell out. Aerith dragged her to the bed in the middle of the room and put a blanket over her. Aerith came back to the table and sat down.

Mickey stood up and walked over to Namine. He got onto his toes and whispered in to her ear. She looked at him, a bit puzzled and quickly understood.

"Okay you two, it's time to go!" She said, and a portal blossomed behind her.

Kevin and Andrea jumped back in surprise and summoned their respective Keyblades. Kevin watched her warily and Mickey quickly jumped in between them.

"Guys, don't! She is helping us. She is going to take you to another world so you can seal its Keyhole!"

Kevin looked at the mouse questioningly and remembered Leon explaining that the Keyblade locked Keyholes to protect the worlds from Heartless. He sighed and dismissed his Keyblade, Andrea followed suit and they walked into the portal. The darkness enveloped them and Kevin began to choke.

"I CAN'T BREATHE!" He yelled, there was no response, just the darkness.

* * *

Kevin started to gasp and choke and quickly realized that he was suffocating himself. There was plenty of air in the darkness here. He pushed through and found himself on a cobblestone road, up above him was a star filled sky, and Namine and Andrea were right beside him.

"Welcome, to Traverse Town!" Namine said with joy.

Kevin and Andrea looked up at the big, flashy signs and were awestruck. Sure, there had been plenty of neon signs on the islands, but this was just much more amazing. It was a wonder they could see the stars in the night sky.

They walked up a flight of stairs and entered a store with a sign above it that read "Traverse Town Accessories. Kevin had looked down at his hand and realized that Vortex was in his hand. He just shrugged it off; he probably summoned it when he had panicked.

There was a woman behind the counter in the store, she wore expensive jewellery and she appeared to be overweight.

"Hi there, and welcome to Traverse… The Keyblade?"

She walked through the door in the counter and went up to Kevin to make sure it wasn't a hallucination. She sighed, she sounded very stressed.

Andrea summoned hers and she said, "Yep, we both have a Keyblade."

The old woman sighed and said "Oh gee, two… Things just get better and bett…"

She turned around as she heard someone walk down a flight of stairs behind her and there was a girl with red hair and a silk nightdress. The girl just stood there, a shocked expression plain on her face. She swayed a bit on the spot, but quickly steadied herself by grabbing onto the railing of the stairs.

"Grandma Rose?" She asked, sounding very weak.

* * *

Venxik looked through the windows of the carriage. For an evil king, this man had gone through a lot to greet him. He got out and stole the driver's heart, leaving the horses alone to fend for themselves in the woods, against the shadow the man had become.

He walked up the hill, seeing the full moon glow behind the silver towers of the castle of night. He blasted open the doors; too impatient to let the guards open them for him. He walked past the now unconscious bodies of the four guards and took their hearts as well and continued down the long, silver pathway.

He came to another pair of large silver doors and opened them more carefully than the last ones, but still caused some damage. There, in the middle of the throne room was a man, who was very overweight and eating a large meal, and an old woman crouched next to him. He seemed annoyed by her very presence; he could use that to his advantage.

He got onto one knee, and put his hand over where his heart would be and said, "Your majesty, I wish to give you the gift of immortality, in return for free reign over the other kingdom. As promised."

The prince's face grew wicked and a smile spread across his face. After all these years, he would finally be able to take over this blasted world and rule like he should.

It was Venxik's turn to smile. "It, however will only happen at the cost of 50 of your subjects. No less. Bring them to this very hall when the moon is full again, and death will no longer be a burden for you."

The prince's face didn't change. He could easily get a few peasant families and sacrifice them.

Venxik was not quite done with his game. "But, ten of those you give to me must be of your royal guards, and one of those ten must be your royal adviser."

The woman croaked and looked up at her master with pleading eyes. She only saw the cold, dark stones that anyone daring to look into his eyes saw.

"Agreed," He said, "Finally, the silver prince will have his immortality, and no one shall stand against me!"

Venxik smiled pleasantly and walked out the doors he had destroyed.

* * *

Jasmine walked down the streets of her village. She was prominent with the use of fire magic, and she was just as good when it came to using swords. She had always won at tournaments her village had held, and won without a sweat. To add insult to injury, she had a very innocent appearance, but was extremely intelligent.

She saw an odd looking woman, wearing a pink shoal and a piece of thin silk that covered her face. She was floating on a crystal ball. She turned around the corner and floated down an alley. Intrigued, Jasmine followed the woman down the path. She almost jumped out of her skin as she bumped into a girl that was wearing a white dress and had pale, white skin as well as blue lips. She literally looked frozen. Jasmine also saw ice crystals lazily floating around her and saw the Heartless symbol that was on the person's stomach, it almost seemed to be armor.

She jumped back and pulled a katana out of a small rip in her dress. Perfect for dealing with those thugs that won't leave you alone. The Heartless summoned a staff in her hand and waved it, making the crystals merge into a large icicle. She shot it at Jasmine with another lazy flick of her wrist.

She shot a ball of fire at the ice, melting it instantly and threw another at the Heartless. Steam erupted around her and she disappeared. There was a small tremor and a teen, with tanned skin, a camouflaged army jacket and a large axe weapon made out of rocks jumped out of a crater he made. He jumped at Jasmine, who threw a few more fireballs. They had no effect, and he swung at her head. She held up the katana to parry the attack, but the rock destroyed it easily.

She gasped as a icicle went through her heart and she slowly began to fade.

A firey red heart appeared above her, and morphed into a girl that had crimson hair, with blonde tips, and a crimson dress with a slit along the legs so she could move easily. There were no arms on the dress either. She looked at the other Heartless with contempt. She could already tell that he was probably an idiot.

The other Heartless came to his side and she said "My name is Xochitl, this is Somaxth. What is yours?"

Jasmine said her name and Xochitl sighed, "No, no, that will never do. Here is a name for you. How about Maxjisne?"

Jasmine played with the word on her tongue a bit and nodded. It sounded good enough for her. Xochitl and Somaxth walked through a portal, and Maxjisne followed them closely.

* * *

Author's Note: That chapter was longer than originally expected. Yes, I did take "The cake is a lie" from Portal. Xochitl btw is pronounced: Zoh-Chill, and Somaxth is pronounced: Sohm-Max-Th.

Jasmine: A very skilled person when it comes to using fire. She, however stood no chance against the solidity of Somaxth, and promptly lost her battle. Jasmine is not the princess of Agrabah.

Maxjisne[Max-Jeez-Ney: The Heartless of Jasmine and equally as skilled as she is. She has two nameless katanas, both have golden dragon heads for a grip, and crimson blades. However, one dragonhead is open mouthed, and the other isn't. They can be used to launch a massive fireball as a last resort. She is also very intelligent, and does not care for people she deems as having limited intelligence.

Tahlia[Tahl-Eeya: The ninja apprentice of Yuffie, mostly used as comedy relief. She, unlike her master, uses kunai instead of the stars Yuffie uses. She seems to really like cake, and is extremely clumsy.


	8. The Darkness of Things

Author's Note: Betrayal, new members… Holy gerbils! What could be coming next? Also, I am planning on updating quickly; I have a lot of free time now after school (especially with these easy assignments.

Firestorm Studios: Once again, a huge arigato to you! I am glad you liked every aspect of it, and I am also happy that you like Tom so much.

Jazmyn: Can you PUH-LEASE point out what my errors are, preferably in a pm, after school or on MSN?

* * *

Chapter Eight: The Darkness of Things 

The woman looked over at the girl. She did indeed look very weak.

"Did… Did you just call me 'Grandma Rose'?" She asked, looking at the girl.

She swayed again, looking dangerously close to fainting and said, "Yes, I did, are you Rose? I'm Ashlee, your granddaughter."

Kevin, Andrea and Namine looked over at Rose and saw the tears trickling down her face. It seemed that this was a bad place to be. Kevin shuffled his feet awkwardly and turned around to leave.

Ashlee noticed him turn around to leave and saw the Keyblade in his hand. Suddenly, she got very mad.

She said, "Please, wait."

She walked up to Kevin, who had turned around to face her. She was staggering, and coming close to falling. When she got close enough, she stretched her hand out, almost as if she wanted to shake his. But quickly balled it into a fist and gave Kevin a harsh uppercut to the chin.

Kevin stumbled backwards and rubbed his chin. _Holy crap, that hurt!_

Rose grabbed Ashlee's arm and, trying to keep her voice down, said, "Child, what on earth are you doing? That is no way to treat a customer in my store, or a Keybearer!"

Tears flowed down Ashlee's cheeks, and she screamed at Rose, "Why not? The Keybearer was not with us when we were attacked! Why should I give **him** any happy, huggy greetings?"

Rose sighed and sat down on a bench that was in the shop, she got Ashlee and the others to sit down on the opposite bench. She looked at the four. Ashlee was glaring at Kevin, Andre and Namine, she was very mad at their very presence. Af_ter all of these years, my granddaughter finally came home to me. Sadly enough, we aren't home._

She clapped her hands, which dimmed the lights, and the fire behind her burned brightly.

"Well, I think it would only be fair to tell you about our home, and what really happened, not whatever silly thought you had about the war.

The first day when the war had begun, a lone Heartless had entered our town, it looked like a dragon, which we learned later on was named a 'Wyvern', such a beautiful name for such a despicable monster.

When it was spotted, it flew up into the sky with a shriek, everyone by that time had been alerted, and a dark void had encompassed the mountains that surrounded our town. Later that night, our town was invaded by the first wave of a thousand Shadow Heartless.

Many of our men lost their hearts in that initial battle. Soon, our army's captain had realized that it would take more than muscle to take down the horde. After the first wave, we lost over a thousand men and women. The children under the age of fifteen and the sick or leprous were put into shelters that we had fortified using our most powerful defensive spells and what ever leftover materials we could find.

Even though we had been considered a village, we had a large amount of people in it. The thousand men and women only took our strength down by one tenth of its actual size. At this point, our most powerful mages were stationed behind the soldiers, who made a human wall. We had been in war before, but we knew with a grim satisfaction that this would be our final fight.

Our village was the last of our world. The Heartless sent in their own brigade of Heartless that I now know as Soldiers. They tore down our defences easily and left the mages to defend themselves. We lost around five hundred men in that battle and new plans had been made.

Our leader had called a conference and had called me up to stand before him.

'Rose, I know that you have retired to being the village healer, but you must know already that you are needed to lead our younger mages in this war. You are the best mage we have ever had, even in recorded history. Stand up, you are now unretired.'

I, of course was annoyed by the sudden command, but I accepted. After all, he was right. Now, you must understand that I was an old woman of about fifty. Well, there I was considered old, but here, I am young and chipper at the age of sixty!

My now deceased husband Rould and I were at the front lines. I had taught him most of what he knew, but for some odd reason, he liked to stick to time magic. Anyways, we were leading the mages to attack the third wave. The Heartless were the same, but a group of Wyverns was leading them. I gulped, my hand closed around Rould's and we both held our staves ready.

A group of Soldiers charged at the two of us, the men behind us appeared to have been cowering. I spat and raised my staff above my head and yelled 'GRAVIGA!' The Heartless were instantly destroyed and Rould spun his staff around in a clockwise motion. After he got two revolutions, he ran forward to the Heartless with amazing speed, and he spun his staff around again, yelling 'FREEZE!' and a large group around him had done just that and were held up in place, yet they appeared limp.

He ran back over to me, and he nodded at me, his smile being extremely shy and very goofy. I returned his humorous smile and I spun my staff in front of me and yelled 'Incinerating Tempest!' After it had been released, a large section of the opposing Heartless were destroyed. After an hour of mine and Rould's spell casting, there was only a small handful of Heartless remaining, which were the ones the soldiers took over.

That night, there was a large feast that night. Rould had gotten drunk on all the rum and brandy that was circulating. The music was joyous and festive, but it soon stopped, as an earth-shaking explosion was made close to the outside of our borders that we had built. In the lead of the Heartless was a giant, black, bell shaped Heartless. It was leading a large number of smaller, red Heartless. They were launching large balls of fire at the houses and they all exploded the ground under the lead black Heartless immediately turned black as night.

As it got beyond the first few houses, I had noticed a motion out of the corner of my eye. It was you, Ashlee… You were running towards the approaching army of Heartless yelling 'Look Mommy! They are so pretty!'

I ran for you, and Rould ran after the approaching army of Heartless to stop them from getting any closer, our bravest men had run with him, swords unsheathed. When I approached you, I quickly handed you to your mother; Petunia and I ran to Rould. I heard Rould yell in pain as many fireballs hit him, his body vanished and a shaded version of himself had appeared where his corpse had been and began talking our men.

I ran forward, and watched as the approaching army vanished into the dark form of Rould. Fire blossomed from his body, and he shot a wave of fire at me. I ducked under it and tried crushing him with a Graviaga spell. As he fell down on his stomach, I heard Petunia scream. I saw you on the ground, with Petunia's vanishing body in front of you. Complete and utter rage washed over me and I charged for the Heartless that had attacked her and was moving on to you.

I however was halted in my tracks as I felt something bind me in place. I turned my head to see Rould approach me an evil smile had cracked his lips, and dark pools had formed under his feet with each step. I turned around again to you and saw as a large dark hole opened below you. You fell in and vanished in sight.

Rould approached me, the smile still large, and I could smell a disgusting burning scent in him. I felt the bonds loosen, and he reached his head for my face and kissed me. Never had I been so disgusted by a man's kiss.

'That is your final parting gift; maybe we will see each other in the darkness. Good bye, my love.'

I spat in his face and screamed 'You bastard! How dare you kiss me? You are not my husband! I will make sure you rot in hell!'

The bonds around me shattered, and all I saw was red. I used Graviaga on him again, and he completely dispersed. I had destroyed him.

I collapsed on to my knees and cried bitter tears. How could I live? These disgusting creatures had murdered all my friends , my daughter and my husband. I felt amazing sorrow and soon, everything around me went black.

For the past ten years, I have been living here, only a year ago, I was able to move in to this store and run it up to today. Ashlee, do you understand what happened? The Keybearer was not able to help us. I know that is for sure. Keybearers have many different emergencies that involve the Heartless, that is why it is impossible for all worlds to be saved."

Ashlee sat there, her eyes red from a lot of crying. Her hands were fists on her knee length shorts. She clenched and unclenched them.

She turned to Kevin and said shakily, "Sorry for that punch."

Kevin threw his hands up and replied "Oh! That? It's okay, I think I understand why you would do that anyways."

Ashlee smiled, but tears were still running down her face. She jumped up and hugged Rose tightly. Rose, was relieved somehow that Ashlee had hugged her, yet she felt that something wasn't right.

She felt her heart catch as she was hugging her granddaughter.

She couldn't feel a heartbeat.

* * *

She woke up in a daze, there were lush, green trees all around her, there was an odd buzzing sound, and small streaks of red buzzing in the air above her head. She quickly remembered getting attacked, and jumped up on to her feet; fireballs bloomed in her hands. 

She almost jumped as a small red creature that almost looked like a pixie landed on her hand. It was sitting in the fire, and making motions as if it were swimming in it. She looked at it with a puzzled expression and it made a strange giggle and poked her wrist. A small hissing noise was heard, and smoke came off of the place it touched. She looked at the skin where it had touched, sure enough; there was a black mark. Yet, it didn't hurt.

She looked at the pixie-like creature with a confused smile and stroked its head. It growled as menacingly as it could and she just laughed. She thought it was sickeningly cute. It made a small scream in terror as a large hulking figure loomed above the girl's head and flew away.

She turned around and saw the large person, he appeared to be wearing a suit of armor, and on it there was a flame pattern, with the image of a silver castle above it.

She looked up at the man and asked, "Yes? How may I help you?"

The man only growled "You are a Strolling Player, it is my king's order that all Strolling Players are murdered."

She looked up at him, her face was showed that she was scared, but her mouth smiled mockingly at him. The soldier pulled a two handed sword out of its sheath and held it ready to strike.

Jasmine looked up at him, nearly giggling and said "Nice toy, did you want a long sword to compensate for something that was not as big as your girlfriend wanted it to be?"

The man's face turned crimson, and he roared and swung the sword at Jasmine. She ducked and shot a ball of fire out of her fist. It smote him in the chest, and the spot on his armor she had hit was smoldering.

She looked at him mockingly and said "Well, that was far too easy."

She walked away and she left the clearing, she saw an old lady hunched over a patch of leaves and grass and collapsed. The lady ran toward Jasmine and swore. She plugged Jasmine's ears with some cotton she held in her medicine pouch, and began to drag her to the cave the Strolling Players were residing in. By the time she got half way there, the song of the forest instantly died, and the air grew frigid. The woman swore again and continued to drag Jasmine.

She turned around as she saw a White Woman behind her; it was floating towards Jasmine, and was calling her name "_Jasmine… Jasmine…"_ Soon, more appeared and the woman covered Jasmine's ears with her hands and screamed, "It's not her time yet! Leave the girl be!"

A small flame danced on Jasmine's opened palm and was launched at the White Woman. It hissed in rage, and dissipated away in to the chilled air. Soon, the temperature returned, and Jasmine regained consciousness.

"Well, young one, I am glad to see you awake so fast, my name is Nettle. Can you please tell me who you are and how you fainted?" Nettle, the old woman asked.

Jasmine looked up at her and said quietly, "My name is Jasmine. I woke in the forest and a man in a red and silver armor attacked me. I think I killed him too."

Nettle swore yet again, and grabbed Jasmine's shoulders.

"If what you say is true, that means that we MUST get to the Black Prince right away."

Jasmine looked at Nettle with a confused look. _Aren't people with the title of 'Black' usually bad people?_

Nettle saw her confused look and smiled "No Jasmine, the Black Prince is a good person. I can tell you aren't from around here. Your clothes are almost exactly similar to that other girl's. Can you walk by yourself?"

Jasmine nodded, and followed Nettle in to the forest. She looked around at the flowers and plants, and some of the red pixies.

"Nettle, what are those?" She asked, pointing at the pixies.

"They are fire elves, in a way, they are like bees. They protect a special kind of honey with their lives, and they sting intruders with weak fire magic."

Jasmine looked at them and smiled and continued to follow Nettle through the forest.

* * *

Venxik walked through the halls of The Castle That Never Was, Leashex right next to him. Leashex was babbling on about some spell she had found in the castle's library, and he just shut her out, why should he care about magic anyways? As they walked along the path, the solid, metallic floor had turned into cobblestone, the walls disappeared and left only darkness around the two and Leashex passed out. 

Venxik walked on, and was not able to stop; it was as if something had possessed him. There was an odd humming sound, and the further down the black corridor he went, the louder the sound got. The hum became a buzz and Venxik started to become light headed. He clutched his forehead and groaned, and fell to the ground.

* * *

Maxjisne looked around the halls of the castle. Venxik had told her about their plans and she was to explore the castle and get to know it. She just sighed and thought _If I wanted to waste my time, I would have poked a hamster with a stick and waited for it to explode…_

She stood in front of a door with a bold 'VIII' painted on it, with the image of red chakrams on it. She pushed it open to find a person sitting on the bed in the back. The bed was crimson and yellow, and was shaped like a flame. The person was a male; he had midnight black hair, and an easily spotted scar on his right cheek, the one that was facing her. He wore a black jacket, with the buttons close to the top being open and a dark purple t-shirt under it. His pants were black leather, and he wore steel-toed boots.

He looked up from his book and looked at Maxjisne.

"Yes, how can I help you?" He asked.

He seemed annoyed and impatient. Maxjisne's face brightened when he talked. He already seemed like a male version of her, just from the way he dressed and talked. She sat down and saw the sword in its scabbard that was belted to his hip.

"Where is this? It feels so familiar…" She said, looking around the room thoughtfully.

He looked at the teen next to her sighed and said, "It is the room of a Nobody, and his name was Axel. He used fire magic and two disc like weapons that were named chakrams. He appears to have been the kind of person that fought from a distance, just based on what was written in his journal. He also had a very sarcastic attitude. I wonder who this 'Superior' person was…"

Maxjisne put her finger to her chin and asked, "So, what are you doing here?"

He sighed again and said "I am reading, what the hell does it look like I'm doing? Nice swords by the way, very ladylike."

She glared menacingly at him and growled, "Want to make something out of it?"

A cocky smirk spread across his face and he said "How does 10 o'clock sound?"

Maxjisne returned his smirk and said, "Fine, I am Maxjisne by the way. Tell me your name, I want to know the name of the guy that is going to get his ass kicked."

He laughed and said, "It's Raynx, meet me at the Altar of Naught at 10."

* * *

Author's Note: Aww, it would seem that Maxjisne made a new buddy friend! How awesome! Her Nobody, Jasmine also made a friend in Nettle too… Astounding… Kevin and Andrea appear to also get pretty chummy with Ashlee and Rose… Good God! I am making these people too friendly dammit! Venxik's part was meant to be short… Was what happened to him a part of Raynx' plan? Or was it some other outside force?

PS: My Microsoft Word is extremely buggy...

* * *

Ashlee: A young sorceress that was born on a long lost world. Later, after her world was destroyed when she was only five, she was transported to the peaceful world of Twilight Town. She has taken after her grandmother in that she can use magic at a higher level than most her age. She, like her grandmother specializes with gravity.

Rose: Ashlee's grandmother and considered the most skilled magician from her old world. Her old home's identity is unknown, and she truly misses it and her ten years dead husband Rould, who she had taught to use stop magic. She now runs the accessory shop in Traverse Town.


	9. Death, Darkness and Xehasnorts

Author's Note: Yep, chapter 9 the awesome! This chapter will be focusing mostly on Venxik and the strange dizzy spell he had with Leashex, and why she fainted. Kevin's part will include a big battle, and in this chapter… A new Heartless shall join the dark ranks! I love the chapter name... HAH

Firestorm Studios: Dear God, the awesomeness is just around the corner… And I am glad you liked the flashback, trust me, this chapter is going to be full of surprises.

Chapter 9: Death, Darkness and Xehasnorts

* * *

Venxik groaned as his mind buzzed. Everything around him was grey and confusing, he could see shapes moving, they were black and blurred. They soon stopped swirling around him and began to expand, smothering out the grey around him.

"Stand up Venxik. We have chosen you."

He realized he was on his knees, he quickly stood up and he saw that he was completely surrounded by darkness. He brushed off his knees, and quickly brought his hands to his sides, his pants felt different.

He looked down at his clothes; he saw that he was wearing midnight black jeans, and that there were purple, flame-like streaks going up the sides. He was now wearing a black vest, with a dark blue shirt under it. He had armored pads on his elbows and knees, with small spikes coming out of them.

He was dumbfounded, and only one thought went through his mind: _Wow…_

"Venxik, I have decided: It is time for you to be the next in line to wield me."

The darkness surrounding him got sucked into a small, black orb and Leashex was lying beside him. She groaned and groggily stood up. He noticed that her clothes were different too. She was wearing a dark purple shirt, her pale belly was exposed. There were random black spell circles on her shirt, and she wore a pair of tight black jeans that had dark purple streaks going in random directions all along them. She was surprised by how different she looked, and was equally as surprised when she saw Venxik's new wardrobe.

The orb began to change shape, and became a long, sword-like weapon. The blade was jagged, and looked very much like the sword the Invisibles had used. It was black, and there was a single blue streak that went down the center of the blade. The sword was long and broad; it looked like it was probably two handed. Venxik and Leashex looked at the blade in disbelief and two orbs appeared in front of them. This time, it was dark purple.

"My sisters have decided to offer their assistance to you, Leashex."

The two changed shape to form twin black sabres that were black with a dark purple strike going along the blade of the two. They were both broad and they seemed to spark with energy.

"Leashex, Venxik. My sisters and I have chosen the two of you to begin the war against the Realm of Light. Wield us strong and true, and we will guide you to the victory the Heartless so richly deserve."

Venxik smiled at his weapon and his pointed teeth showed in a feral grin.

"Of course, please, tell us your names."

There was a hum and the blade vibrated, and so did Leashex's.

"Ah, so your name is Interfecit. I will wield you properly. I will destroy the light with your help." Venxik said, the grin spreading wider and larger

"Anarchy, Chaos, I will too." Leashex whispered, caressing the sharp end of the blade like she would a small cat.

She smiled like a young girl that was just given the doll she had been waiting for months for and looked at Venxik. They laughed at each other's faces, and dismissed their weapons. They walked down the hall, hand in hand and disappeared around the corner.

* * *

Maxjisne stepped onto the Altar of Naught, the heart shaped moon of Kingdom Hearts right behind her, with a multitude of hearts floating up to it. She pulled her two katanas, Tsuki no Ken and Taiyou no Ken and spun them around boredly, waiting for Raynx to appear.

Tsuki no Ken and Taiyou no Ken began to hum loudly, and Maxjisne just giggled. Apparently, they were as anxious to begin the fight as she was. She heard a group of feet walking up the stairs, it sounded like four feet.

"Oh, Maxjisne! What are you doing here?" Xunahs asked, looking at the humming swords in her hands.

She turned to look at him, "Why, I am going to fight Raynx, I might as well show him that girls don't suck."

"Fight the powah!" Axdrane yelled in reply, pumping her fists into the air.

Maxjisne just sighed and turned around to see Raynx standing there. A huge grin was on his face.

"I see we have an audience!" He said, looking at his brother and his brother's girlfriend.

"Are we ready?" Maxjisne asked.

"Heh, you bet."

Deggan appeared in his hand, and it had a black aura around it. A grin cracked over Raynx' face and he jumped at Maxjisne, bringing the sword down towards her head. She effortlessly blocked it with Moon Blade (Tsuki no Ken) and stabbed upwards with Sun Blade (Taiyou no Ken). Raynx put all his weight into Dreggan and used the pressure to flip away from the strike of Sun Blade and quickly dashed back at Maxjisne when he landed.

She jumped to the side and shot a ball of purple fire into Raynx' side. He yelled in pain and vanished. Maxjisne looked at the spot where Raynx had just been a couple of seconds ago and was in shock. _Did I really just kill him?_

Xunahs and Axdrane were obviously both in shock, but they weren't looking at Maxjisne, they were looking behind her! She spun around and blocked a blow by Dreggan with both of her swords in an X shaped fashion.

"Like my ability? I have learned what I can do; I can make illusions at will. So far they are small, but the whole time. You were only fighting a copy of myself. I was hiding under the ground, waiting for you to finish the clone. That didn't take too long, eh?"

Maxjisne smiled and said, "That is pretty damn awesome, but not as awesome as this!"

She stretched her arms out, and crouched much like the pyro that Raynx had read about would, and flames erupted of her opened palms. She did a front flip, grabbing Raynx' shoulders and slammed him into the ground. Raynx was lying on the ground, smoldering holes where his shoulders were. An evil grin cracked across his face, and he vanished. Maxjisne was about to draw her swords, but she stopped when she felt the cool steel against her throat.

"It's done." Raynx said, a huge smile across his face. "I enjoyed myself, you put up a great fight! Let's do it again sometime!"

Maxjisne laughed and said "Yep, too true. It was good, but let's face it, I kicked your ass… TWICE!"

Raynx shook his head and walked away, Xunahs and Axdrane following behind. Maxjisne just sighed and looked up at the Kingdom Hearts moon that hummed above her head.

* * *

Kevin, Andrea and Ashlee were sitting outside of the accessory store, looking up at the starlit sky. There was a shriek and Ashlee jumped up. Kevin and Andrea looked at her in surprise and noticed that she was shivering violently.

"Th-That shriek! It's a Wyvern!" She screamed.

Rose came out of the store, a large staff with various runes carved in it was in her hand.

"Ashlee, be careful, if that really was a Wyvern, you are going to go inside. Got that?" Rose said. Her voice and her body were shaking.

Ashlee stepped in front of Rose, a small blue orb in each hand. She waved her hands around quickly, and they become long, blue whips.

"Yeah right you are fighting off the Heartless. You are too old, at least let me help. I am not letting you take them on alone, and this time we have **two** Keybearers on our side."

Rose sighed and shook her head. "Fine, just be safe."

"Don't worry, if push comes to shove, we can take care of her." Kevin said, standing beside Ashlee, Vortex in his hand. Andrea walked up next to him and nodded sternly at Rose. The small hints of a smile obvious on her face.

People that were wandering throughout the streets began to run inside their houses or the nearest buildings to them as a multitude of Heartless appeared in the small square. The four waited for them to advance, and Namine watched from the store window.

A large group of shadows surrounded them and Kevin dispatched them easily with Thunder. He ran down the stairs to meet the group of Heartless head on, Andrea, Ashlee and Rose followed, weapons ready. Kevin began firing thunder balls into the crowd, they exploded and waves of electricity destroyed the Heartless that were around the balls.

Andrea exchanged blows with a group Armored Knights, while Ashlee and Rose took on a section of Soldiers.

Soon, all the Heartless were gone, and there was a loud scream coming from the Second District. Kevin, Rose and Andrea looked around to see that Ashlee was gone.

"She must have gone to the Second District!" Rose cried, "We need to get there now!"

They ran after Rose as she ran towards the giant doors that lead to the Second District of Traverse Town. She came to an abrupt halt to see a dark figure embracing Ashlee. He looked up from his victim and quickly shifted behind her, holding a knife at her throat.

"Rose my dear, it has been too long! I am surprised you haven't withered away with old age yet!"

Rose gasped, despite the darkness that flowed through the man's voice; she did not even have to guess who it was.

"R-Rould?"

He simply laughed, and squeezed Ashlee's wrist. Kevin was able to see her face. She was pale with terror and her eyes showed how scared she was. He growled and stepped forward, and Vortex began to hum.

"Keybearer, if I were you, I would stop right there. After all, we wouldn't want her to lose her pretty little head over a foolish mistake!" Rould barked, and the knife grew an extra foot in length, becoming a miniature sword.

He began to press down the blade and Ashlee whimpered. Kevin lowered his hands. He couldn't do anything. The Keyblade vanished and Rould laughed a dark and chilling laugh and was instantly cut off. His throat made a gurgling noise, and his body began to fell backwards. A single stalagmite ripped through his torso as he fell down to the ground and he smashed his head on the railing behind him.

Rose screamed as she saw Rould get torn, and Ashlee ran to her grandmother's side and squeezed her tightly. The stalagmite was pulled out of the ground and floated over Rould's head. It flipped so the spike was hanging above his head; and it dropped.

There was a high-pitched scream and his body vanished, leaving behind a small pool of darkness. A person dropped down from the building beside them. He walked up to Ashlee and looked at her throat.

His hair was dark brown, and his skin was rather tanned. He had a slightly muscular build, and he wore camoflage pants that had many large pockets in them, and a muscle shirt that was also camoflage. He also had a single pouch that was attached to his left arm, and it appeared to be full of something.

"Are you okay? My name is Tom. Good, it appears you aren't bleeding." He said, inspecting Ashlee's throat closely.

He whirled around to see Kevin, Andrea and Rose, with their weapons ready.

He held his hands up in the air and said "Hey! Hey, don't look at me like that! I was the one that saved her! Stupid bastard Heartless was going around destroying worlds. He told me his name was Rould on many occasions. Finally I was able to kill the bastard."

He crushed his shoe against the dark blotch and it disappeared in a puff of smoke.

He looked at Kevin and Andrea closer and said, with amazement, "The Keyblade! And there are two! Amazing! Wait a sec, I can tell from a mile away… Are you two Nobodies?"

Andrea nodded and said, "Yep, Kevin, Ashlee and I are. I would guess that you are too; you seem to be similar to us. My name is Andrea by the way, thanks for helping us!"

Tom laughed and said "No problem Andrea, Kevin, and Ashlee. It is always right to help those in need, after all!"

Kevin nodded his head in agreement and said, "Totally agree with you on that one, Tom. How did you get here?"

Tom looked at his sneakers and muttered, "Well, I don't really know. I was fighting a Heartless, back when I had a heart. I beat him, and then Lochit stabbed me through my heart with an icy knife. After that, I found this man; his name was Rould. He said he was going to help me, but he made me destroy countless people. So I turned against him and tried to fight him, but he escaped."

Andrea gasped, she only heard the part about Lochit stabbing him with the knife and said "How tragic."

Tom sighed and said "Yeah, women… What can you do?"

Kevin laughed, and Andrea got this sudden urge to slap him across the face. Her face became cherry red, which caused Kevin to laugh harder, which ended with a handprint on his face. He nursed his wound with his hand and made puppy dog eyes at Andrea, who only glared back in response.

There was a small tremor and a large bell rang. Rose stepped backwards, towards the door, and a large pile of armor clattered onto the ground before them. It floated up and assembled itself.

"Guard Armor." Rose whispered.

The group of four teens turned to face the hulking armor and at that moment, Namine ran into the Second District to see what was happening. She turned around to go through the doors, back to the First District, but something had locked them.

There was a dark and chilling laugh, and the six froze. Rould hadn't died after all. The spot that Rould had been destroyed on seemed to have vibrated and darkness exploded from it and flowed into the armor. It shivered and shrank so that it was human size. The torso of the body changed shape so that arms and a head could easily fit through it. Pale-white arms came out of the armholes, and a pale head with black hair came through the top, a wicked grin on its face. The arms flew over his hands and changed shape into long blades, and the armor seemed to melt up his arms to meet his shoulders. The legs floated to his feet and covered them.

The helmet covered his head and the visor flipped up and Rose began to cry.

"You demon! Why can't you leave us alone?"

He simply laughed. His laugh rang out across the district and he sent a bolt of energy that shot Rose and Namine through the wooden gate that joined the First and Second distritcts. Kevin, Andrea, Ashlee and Tom all looked at the levitating Rould. The armor rippled and turned black and he laughed yet again.

"Do you four children **really** think you can defeat me?"

Kevin looked up and a grin cracked his lips. "Why don't we see if we can?"

He lunged at the armor, Vortex ready to strike, but was unable to deal any kind of damage when he brought Vortex down the length of the armor.

"Feeble simpleton!" Rould roared. He swung at Kevin and flung him against a brick wall.

Tom unbuttoned his large pockets and let several rocks float up from them. He thrust his arms forward and sent the rocks straight into Rould's armor. He grinned as the rocks made contact, but his grin quickly faded as he realized they had no effect. The giant black sword came down on Tom and flung him back and smacked him against the door.

_Oh crap! Kevin and Tom are unconscious! _Andrea thought as she dodged a swing from Rould's sword-arm. She looked at Ashlee, who had two whips dangling from her hands. _Maybe all hope isn't lost. Ashlee and I should be able to take care of this old man! _She roared and jumped at Rould, Frost shining a vibrant blue. Ashlee came close behind, her whips flying behind her like tassels.

They both struck simultaneously and Andrea almost yelled in joy as a large crack appeared along the length of the torso of Rould's armor. He screamed in fury and spun around, letting the blades slash wildly, the fence and the small pillars behind him were shorn apart and he was getting dangerously close to the two girls. Andrea focused a ball of ice onto Frost's tip and shot it into the center of Rould's armor.

Ice encased him and he was unable to move. Ashlee jumped at him and began to swing the whips, and tore straight through the ice. There was a screech and steam poured out of the gashes. The superheated water blew Ashlee back and she landed gracefully on her feet. She looked over at Andrea and they high fived each other.

They felt a surge of energy pass between their bodies and a blue light encompassed the two of them.

Without even thinking, they both yelled "Blizzard of Time!" Ashlee's whips seemed to get frozen over and grew several spikes, and a spiked whip appeared in Andrea's unused hand. They both lunged at Rould and slashed at him, jumping off the pieces of rubble he left behind from his last attack after they finished their first jump. After several cracks appeared on his armor; they jumped onto his shoulders and jumped high above them. Ashlee's and Andrea's whips shattered and several ice crystals fell to the ground like snow.

They both grabbed onto Frost's grip and turned around so that they, and Frost were facing down on the stunned Rould's head. They yelled "Frost Force!" and hurtled down and through Rould and the black armor. Ice, metal and darkness exploded everywhere and Rould was standing in front of them. A grin was spread across his face and his eyes became dull.

"Good job Ashlee, I guess you are my granddaughter after all…" He collapsed and faded into the darkness. A single heart floated up to the sky and disappeared.

There was a hum and a large, silver outline of a keyhole appeared below Andrea's feet. She jumped back in surprised, and felt her arm get lifted up by an odd force. She looked up to see Frost glowing in that same, silvery colour and the colour drained and went into a single silver ball. It shot up into the sky and exploded. Several small beams of light fell into the Keyhole, there was a distinctive click, and it disappeared.

Rose came in and looked around at the destruction with shock plain on her face. She ran up to Kevin and felt his head. She sighed as she could feel no blood, and the same was true for Tom. She got Andrea to help her pick up Kevin, and Ashlee and Namine to pick up Tom. Together, they carried the two unconscious warriors into the accessory store.

* * *

Author's Note: Tom? I wasn't expecting that either until the last second! The same goes with Rould, but I decided that Tom had to be introduced and Rould had to be vanquished. It would appear that Tom also has some sort of quarrel with Rould! At least Rould has been finished off… Right? Also, we finally learn what Raynx' element is! He also seems to know how to manipulate his abilities over illusion. The Maxjisne fight was won by Raynx, but hey… Jasmine, it is illegal to castrate people… Y'know? On the subject of Leashex and Venxik's new weapons and clothes… I never really could think of what Leashex' weapons would have been, but here they are now! As for their wardrobe change, Venxik and Leashex might have well been naked with the terrible descriptions I gave them. By the way, Venxik has slightly spiked, midnight black hair.

* * *

Tom (Nobody): Tom has the ability to control earth; he appears to know how to do it as well as Somaxth can. Unlike his Heartless, Tom prefers to use the small, sharpened stones in his pouches as projectile weapons, and will rarely ever make a weapon out of the ground. He appears to have some sort of hatred for Rould, and does not seem to care much for Lochit.

* * *

On another note: This chapter is officially my longest yet at nearly 9 pages, and at 3,520 words! 


	10. A World in the Pages

Author's Note: No more stalling, the very second I finish a chapter; I am moving on to the next one!

Firestorm Studios: Thanks! I think I have finally found my groove!

Chapter 10: A World in the Pages

* * *

Kevin woke in a comfortable, feathery bed inside the room of the Accessory Store in Traverse Town. He saw a small door that lead to the hallway, and saw Tom sleeping in the bed next to him. They both had bandages wrapped around their heads, and Kevin had a cast over his left wrist.

He got up and got hit by a wave of dizziness and fell, on is left arm. He screamed in pain and Rose, Ashlee, Namine and Andrea ran up to see what had happened. The scream had also woken up Tom, who was sitting upright and looking groggily at Kevin and the four girls that were crowded around him.

He got up and walked over to the five, and helped Kevin stand up. He looked around the room with a dazed look and Rose handed him a book with a beautiful red covering. Kevin looked at it, a huge smile spread over his mouth; he loved to read.

Rose smiled happily at Kevin and said, "I got the book for you a few hours ago when Andrea explained to me that you like books! I really hope you like it. It's a fantasy. It's called _Inkheart."

* * *

_

Meggie sat in the small cave, Farid and the new girl named Jasmine sitting beside her. When Meggie first saw Jasmine, she knew right away that she was from a world that was, at the very least, similar to her own. Farid was still in a state of shock since Dustfinger, who was really a father figure for Farid had sacrificed himself to bring Farid back to life.

She heard Orpheus mumble while Fenoglio was instructing him in writing, so that he may be used to bring Dustfinger back. Meggie herself didn't know what would happen to Orpheus when he revived Dustfinger, but she knew that Farid wanted to watch him die.

She saw a small poem that had been lying on the ground in front of her. It was decorated with images of four warriors, two boys and two girls. All four of them were teens. She picked it up and read it.

_In the darkness, in our heart of hearts._

_There is a light, and there are gatekeepers for that light,_

_There are four, each with a heart more beautiful than gold._

_They wield peculiar weapons that shine with light._

_One from the Earth,_

_One from the starlit sky._

_One from the frosty mountains,_

_And one from the unrelenting storm._

_Their compassion for peace drives them on._

_Now come! We summon you to our doomed world._

_Purge us of the dark!_

Meggie looked at the paper with amazement. It seemed more like a plea than a poem. She picked it up and showed it to Farid and Jasmine.

"The hell?" Jasmine stated blatantly, looking at the paper. "Do you think we should show it to Fenoglio and ask if he wrote it?"

Farid's face twisted at the mention of Fenoglio's name. "No, we shouldn't! Cheeseface (Orpheus) is with him! He would probably just take all the glory for himself!"

A smile crept across Meggie's mouth, it was a reckless smile and completely unlike her.

"Why don't I read it and see what comes out? Maybe they can help us!"

Farid looked at her, the worry was plain on his face, and Jasmine looked intrigued. _What does she mean by that?_ She thought.

"Okay Meggie, fine, at midnight." Farid said. "We should also invite Cheeseface, we can show him that he isn't the only one that can read!"

Meggie liked the thought and smiled happily. She already knew that Farid hoped that Orpheus would be sucked into the poem from which these four may come from.

* * *

Kevin flipped through the pages of Inkheart, finishing a part that described one of the many atrocities of Capricorn, the villain of the novel. He shivered and began fall asleep. He thought he heard a girl's voice as he fell asleep, the candles above his head snuffed themselves out and the world around Kevin, Andrea, Ashlee and Tom went black.

* * *

Meggie stood in the underground spring, many people sat in front of her, all watching her with expectant eyes. She held the poem in her right hand, and was wearing a dress. Mo, her father had suggested that she read the poem out loud, after he inspected it and made sure that no one would have been able to be sucked into the words.

Meggie cleared her throat, got the thumbs up from Jasmine and held the poem in front of her. Ready to read. The crowd stopped their murmuring, and it seemed as though the running water behind her had stopped, hoping to listen to this poem. The second she began to speak, a beautiful torrent of words came out of her now parted lips. Painting a picture. And she began to read.

"_In the darkness, in our heart of hearts._

_There is a light, and there are gatekeepers for that light,_

_There are four, each with a heart more beautiful than gold._

_They wield peculiar weapons that shine with light._

_One from the Earth,_

_One from the starlit sky._

_One from the frosty mountains,_

_And one from the unrelenting storm._

_Their compassion for peace drives them on._

_Now come! We summon you to our doomed world._

_Purge us of the dark!"_

Some of the people in the crowd were shocked by the intensity of the final part, but were even more surprised to see four sleeping teens in between them and Meggie. There was a quiet murmuring, and the Black Prince, Mo and Fenoglio ushered them out of the small den. Fenoglio looked around for his student, Orpheus but could not see him anywhere. His old, wrinkled face screwed up with confusion, and his eyes opened as if something had clicked in his head. Orpheus had been replaced by one of the teens.

Farid ran to Meggie's side, and congratulated her on a job well done; Jasmine came up to Meggie, closely behind Farid, and was slightly dumbstruck. Mo and Fenoglio checked all four teens to make sure that they were just sleeping and sighed with relief when they realized the four were breathing normally. Mo knelt down to feel the pulse of the tallest teen, with the brown hair and blue t-shirt and jeans and drew his hand back. His face was white as a sheet. There was no pulse. He hurried over to the shortest girl, her hair the same colour, but long enough to reach her shoulders, she wore tight fitting jeans and a pink t-shirt with a snowflake in the middle and he drew his hand back, no pulse.

Fenoglio's face showed that the other two had no pulse as well. At that moment, Meggie ran down the stairs to see why her father and Fenoglio had such pale faces, and why the Black Prince seemed worried. She saw Mo looking down at the teens, and knelt down before the teen with the muscle shirt and gasped.

She started crying, and screamed, "I killed them! I killed them!"

A hand grabbed her arm, and she saw the girl that was lying next to the boy with the muscle shirt look up at her with a confused look. She looked around the cavern, very confused and both boys and the short girl sat up and looked around the room.

"What do you mean you killed us? I am feeling pretty damn alive right now, what about you, Kevin, Andrea and Tom?" She asked

Tom rubbed his head and said, "I am feeling pretty alive Ashlee, my head hurts a bit, but oh well. That is no big deal, is it?"

Meggie almost fainted. She could feel the lack of a pulse from Ashlee's wrist, but she was still talking like she hadn't died.

"Wh-Who are you?" Meggiee asked.

"I don't know, who are you?" Ashlee replied curtly.

"My name is Meggie, I read you out of a poem." She looked around for the poem, but couldn't find it. Only a pile of white dust was there.

"My name is Kevin, the girl that is grabbing you is Ashlee, the other girl with the pink t-shirt is Andrea, and the boy with the camouflage muscle shirt is Tom. We are all Nobodys, beings that don't have hearts. It happened to us when we were attacked by dark creatures named Heartless. We were human before, and we still are." Kevin replied, a smile on his face.

Meggie seemed to have relaxed, but her grip was still painfully strong on Ashlee's wrist. Mo ran up to his daughter and gently removed her hand.

"I read about Nobodies, in a book I was binding in Elinor's library. You have the ability to pass to any place you like, am I right?"

Tom nodded and said, "Yeah, we do have that ability, can you tell us how we got here?"

Mo smiled and placed his hand on Meggie's shoulder. "Meggie, my daughter decided to read a poem that was about four heroes of light, after she finished, you were here and asleep. You see, my daughter and I have the ability to make anything that we read out loud come to life. That is what happened to you."

Kevin looked at Mo and said "I see… I wish I could do that…"

Kevin saw the sword that was at Mo's hip, and the light blue, leather mask that had various bird feathers on it that was around his neck. A blue robe covered Mo's clothes. Kevin imagined that if Mo had put on the mask, he would look something like a blue Zorro.

Meggie had a plain dress. It had several rips and tears, especially along the sides, probably so she could run easier. Her hair was tied back, and her face showed that she had been in many dangerous struggles.

Jasmine walked up to Kevin and the others with him. Her purple jeans and t-shirt fluttered slightly behind her.

"Kevin, right? I am Jasmine. I think… I think I am a Nobody too. I remember getting attacked by Heartless, everything went dark, and I wound up in a forest, and was brought here by Nettle."

Tom felt for a pulse, and didn't find one.

"Yep, she is a Nobody." He said, after turning back to Kevin.

Kevin faced the Black Prince and said, "Sorry, I don't think we were introduced, my name is Kevin, and yours is?"

He held out his hand and the Black Prince accepted it, Kevin couldn't help but notice the black bear that sat next to him, but continued to look at the Black Prince.

"My name is the Black Prince, I lead the Strolling Players. I am a master knife thrower, and he-" He pointed at the bear "is my lifelong friend."

The bear growled in response and lazily raised his hand for Kevin to grab it. He did so, and they did a small handshake. The bear took his hand back and contentedly licked his paw. There was a large commotion coming from within the caverns. There were screams of terror, and someone shouted 'Beasts! Beasts as black as night!'

Kevin summoned Vortex, Andrea summoned Frost, and the whips appeared in Ashlee's hands. A large amount of rocks surrounded Tom, and fire danced around Jasmine.

Farid looked in awe at the five that were in front of him, and was especially amazed by the way Jasmine was controlling the fire. There were more screams as people ran into the cavern, a group of Soldiers and Armored Knights followed closely behind them. Kevin watched in horror as one of the knights impaled a man that was trying in vain to hold them off.

Farid yelled and took some of the fire Jasmine held around herself and shot it at the attacking Heartless. Many of the Armored Knights faded from existence; leaving a hole big enough for Kevin and Andrea to jump into the crowd, and easily dispatched the rest.

Ashlee, Jasmine and Tom walked up behind Kevin, he got a swat in the back of the head from Jasmine, who shouted "You could have at least let us take care of some of the damned Heartless!"

There was a chilling laugh, and everyone in the room froze. Kevin heard a scream and he turned around to see Meggie and Mo turn deathly pale at the laugh and he turned around again to see a lone figure walk through the corridor into the cavern.

His face was pale as parchment; his eyes were lifeless and empty. He seemed almost as if he were devoid of any emotion besides hatred. He wore a long, blood red robe and had two ruby cufflinks on the wrist cuffs. He had a pointed chin. For some off reason, even his presence made Kevin shiver.

He bowed mockingly and scoffed, "Oh Silvertongue, it has been too long, I see that your wonderful daughter has aged."

Mo and Meggie's faces turned the same shade as this new person's, and Mo put a comforting arm in front of Meggie.

"Ah, I see you remember me Silvertongue! It is, indeed I, Capricorn!"

* * *

Venxik and Leashex found themselves on a sandy beach. A wonderful ocean breeze ruffled their hair. He sat down, and Leashex plopped down next to him. The breeze got stronger, and a wave of darkness encompassed the emerald green ocean before them.

Soon, they were merely on a patch of land that was floating over a black abyss. A lone figure appeared in front of them. He wore a white coat that was opened, and had somehow been held open, possibly by his dark powers that Venxik could sense pouring off of him. His tanned chest was exposed, and his hair was long and silver. He had a single Heartless floating behind him. Venxik immediately recognized it as Guardian.

"Well Xehanort, how are you doing? I see you still have a fondness for this world. It appears the boy is slipping through the cracks already! Oh well, no big deal is it? The moment he emerges, we can destroy him easily."

Ansem seemed hurt by the comment and sneered.

"Yes, and how long did it take you to break out of that prison again? Either that boy had a stronger light than you had darkness, or you are just that pathetic."

His Guardian made a small growl that seemed like an amused chuckle and Venxik stood up.

"Well, Xehasnort, we could always figure out who is more powerful out of the two of us."

Interfecit appeared in Venxik's hand and it sparked with energy. Ansem summoned two Soul Eaters and attached them to make the pole arm and spun it around, kicking up a torrent of sand.

"Yes, I suppose we shall. Won't we?"

Four Darksides appeared behind Ansem and Venxik could only laugh.

"Really Ansem, is that all?"

He raised Interfecit to the sky and unleashed a bolt of energy. There was a blood-curdling shriek and the Darksides exploded into their dark particles. Behind Venxik were the gigantic wings, body and blade of Blood Lust.

"Blood Lust? But how? It was destroyed and sealed long ago!"

Venxik held Interfecit at the ready position and said mockingly, "So, are we going to dance or what?"

Ansem looked up at Blood Lust and sighed in defeat. If Venxik could summon the demon Heartless, it would be best for him to surrender while he still had a head. The twin swords vanished and he held his head down in defeat.

Venxik snapped his fingers and Blood Lust vanished back into the sky.

"I suppose you would like to accompany us, Ansem?" Venxik asked, looking boredly at the other Heartless.

Leashex, who seemed to be long forgotten just stared at the two Heartless. Only she could see the darkness that had made Venxik nothing more than a blur. Something about him was changing, and she was not sure that it was for the better.

Venxik opened a portal, and the darkness around him dissipated, and Leashex and Ansem followed closely behind him. Even though Leashex revelled in the dark, and loved Venxik, she suddenly felt uneasy around him.

* * *

Author's Note: Short chapter, but I feel it was worth it… Be careful, massive character bios coming right up!

* * *

Meggie: A young girl that is around fourteen years old. She has the rare ability of being able to give beings that she reads about in a story, life in her own world. She can only do this by reading out loud.

Mo: Meggie's father, and has three identities on this world, one is Mo, Meggie's father. The second is The Bluejay, a Robinhood-like thief, and Silvertounge, a man that can read anything out of a story just as Meggie can.

Farid: A young boy that is under the apprenticeship of Dustfinger, who had given his own life to save Farid's. Farid has the ability to manipulate fire to his own will and can even speak its language.

Jasmine: A Nobody that had lost her heart at the hands of Xochitl. She controls fire with ease and uses an odd weapon that resembles the one her brother uses.

Fenoglio: An old writer, and the original creator of _Inkheart_. He has a strong connection to the characters he had made, but after meeting some of the darker ones, he dreads living in his own world.

Capricorn: The main antagonist of _Inkheart._ He was killed by Mo and had been brought back to life by Venxik. (He is truly evil, and I would probably have a hard time sleeping if he was alive in reality.)

The Black Prince: Leader of the Strolling Players and master knife thrower. He and his black bear seem to have almost a symbiotic relationship and are never seen apart from one another.


	11. Capricorn

Author's Note: This chapter was deffinately not at its full potential, because I hit so many huge arse cases of writer's block, and I wanted to get this chapter.

Firestorm Studios: Thanks! The story is obviously going to play out in a way that may be unexpected.

Chapter 11: Capricorn

* * *

Venxik appeared before the throne of the Silver Prince, to see if enough sacrifices had been gathered. The only one to greet him was the old woman that had been with the Silver Prince, and a pile of human bones. She glared at Venxik; her dark, beady eyes were enough to make him flinch back. She looked at the bones tenderly and snapped her head back up to Venxik. She looked like a small old witch; her robes were white and had the Prince's blazon on it.

"If you can truly keep death at bay and give someone immortality," She spat. "Give my son Capricorn new life!"

Venxik groaned, he had to find a way out of this quickly.

"Listen, I am only helping the Silver Prince, not some pile of bones, do you want to die sooner? Is that it? Because, I can arrange for that to happen."

Interfecit appeared in his hand and the old woman stepped back.

"Mortola! What are you doing? How dare you insult our guest!" Someone roared.

Venxik looked around to see the far Silver Prince stumble towards the throne. He looked at the bones with a touch of admiration.

"Those are Capricorn's, aren't they? He was a good ally." He murmured.

Venxik threw his hands up into the air in exasperation and shouted "Fine! Fine! I will revive the freaking guy!"

He pointed Interfecit at the Capricorn's skull, and shot a bolt of energy at it. There was a loud crack and the bones began to roll into a human shape. The flesh, organs and muscles spread over bones and soon, there was Capricorn, his pale body seemed to shimmer in the eerie light. His hair and nails grew back, and a blanket was placed over his now shivering body.

Mortola and the Silver Prince looked at Venxik in surprise.

"You actually brought him back to life. Maybe you can give me immortality."

Venxik himself was surprised that he was able to do it.

A grin cracked across his face and he said "I sure can, do what I said, and as for now… I will give you a gift."

He pointed Interfecit at the chest of the Silver Prince and shot yet another bolt of energy. The prince fell to the ground, groaning in pain and Mortola jumped back and screamed something at Venxik. The body of the Silver Prince seemed to ripple, and all of the fat he had accumulated over the years had been absorbed and decomposed in his body. The loose folds of skin around his body shrank in and his arms and legs grew an inch wider with muscles.

He stood up; the robe he had been wearing previously was more of a blanket for him and he looked around with a slightly dazed look. He stumbled as if he were light headed and sat down. Venxik turned around to walk away. He vanished, leaving a pile of silver armor in his place.

* * *

Rose silently walked up the stairs to the room where the four had been sleeping. She was humming happily, a tray with four bowls of cereal and milk were on it. Namine was downstairs, sweeping the store. She had insisted that she stay with Rose, explaining that she was waiting for someone.

When she pushed open the door, she dropped the tray and the glass dished shattered on the ground. There were thumping footsteps behind her and a panting Namine, who was wearing a pair of light blue jeans and a white shirt. She gasped and the broom she was holding clattered on the floor. There, on Kevin's bed was a confused looking, pale-faced man.

Rose ran up to him and grabbed him by his throat and screamed, "What did you do to my granddaughter?"

The man simply looked depressed. He looked at his feet and he muttered something.

She glared angrily at him and screamed, "What was that? I didn't hear you! Speak up when you talk to me you coward!" "I said I didn't do anything to them! I don't even know who they are!"

Rose looked at him with disgust plainly showing in her eyes. She threw him back on the bed. Which was hard, especially for a woman of her age, to pick up a man of that size. 

Namine sat down beside him and looked him in the eyes.

"Can you please tell us what happened to them? One of the girls that went missing when you came here was her granddaughter. Her granddaughter was the same one that she hadn't seen for ten years, up until yesterday. Please tell me what happened, you could probably tell us."

She saw a tear roll down his cheek and smiled contentedly. She stood up to walk away, but was stopped when a meaty hand grabbed her skinny arm and she looked down into the man's tear stained eyes.

"My name is Orpheus, I was watching a young girl read a poem, she was probably no younger than you. I myself always thought my voice to be the most beautiful, but this girl… Meggie reads this poem and I am guessing, that caused your friends to go to that story and for me to come to this story. You see, Meggie and I have this ability to make anything that is written on paper come to life, only if we read it out loud. There are some things that we can't do with words on a paper and our own voices, but Meggie appears to have broken those laws herself and has ruined my whole belief on this power we have."

Namine nodded and smiled sweetly at the man and looked at Rose, who seemed to have felt sorry for lashing out at Orpheus for being there. Rose sat down next to Orpheus on the bed and looked at him in the eyes.

"Sorry Orpheus, I shouldn't have lashed out at you. I just don't know if you know how it feels to have someone you truly care about be put within range of you, only to be taken away an instant later. My name is Rose, and the young girl with us is Namine, she does not belong here either, but chooses to stay and wait for a 'special someone'."

Orpheus shook their hands and accepted Rose's apology. He stood up and looked at Rose in the eyes.

"I suppose, I will wait here until this wrong is righted and I return home. I just hope the others will manage okay without my voice and writing techniques to aid them in their travels."

* * *

"Finally, I am back. A few hours of making a fake immortality spell for a fat prince is really tiring." Venxik sighed.

Leashex walked up to him and greeted him with her usual "Hiya", which was followed by a hug. Venxik still couldn't help but be impressed by her new clothes and the swords she **always** carried on her back.

"Well, Axdrane has challenged me to a fight on the Altar today at dawn… As if we can tell it is freaking dawn in a world covered in perpetual darkness! She said that she wanted to test her abilities on me… She has been holding them secret, even from her lover."

She twirled around, and her weapons glowed slightly as she did.

"Well Leashex, you shouldn't worry, I will be there to watch anyways! You will obviously kick ass. By the way, you should get going, it is 'dawn' right now. I will be up in a few minutes."

Leashex smiled and turned around to run up the flight of stairs that lead to the Altar of Naught, with Venxik walking behind her. They emerged and were soon on the Altar, and saw Axdrane in the center of it, her back to the Kingdom Hearts moon, and Raynx, Xunahs, Somaxth, Xochitl and Maxjisne were sitting on the sides.

Leashex walked up and pulled both of her swords from her back straps and smiled mockingly at a weapon lacking Axdrane.

"So, Axy, what are you going to fight me with? Your fists?"

"What a great idea Leashex!" She shouted in reply.

A smirk spread over her mouth and darkness exploded around her hands. She jumped at Leashex and punched with her right hand. Leashex held up Chaos to block it and slashed at her ribs with Anarchy. Only to have it collide with a bladed gauntlet. Both of her hands were covered by a dark purple gauntlet, both of them had light blue lines running around them like veins.

"Holy crap! Axdrane when did you get those?" Xunahs shouted from the sidelines, which quickly got a smack in the back of the head from Raynx and Maxjisne simultaneously.

"Shut up! We are watching something!" They hissed angrily, in unison.

Leashex barely had time to dodge as a claw sliced past her cheek. She felt warm blood roll down the side of her face, and smiled.

"Well, at least one of the people in your cute little couple isn't useless." She said mockingly, nodding towards Xunahs.

His cheeks went bright red and he glared at her angrily.

"Too true!" Venxik roared, which caused Xunahs' cheeks to go crimson.

Axdrane suppressed one of her annoying, high-pitched squeals of laughter and aimed a punch for Leashex' head. She jumped to the side, and brought the butts of Chaos and Anarchy down on Axdrane's arms. She screamed in pain and punched Leashex in the stomach.

The light blue blades of her gauntlet detached and began to hover lazily around Leashex. Their tips began to glow, and six lasers fired out of the claws. Leashex parried four of the lasers, but was smote in the back by the two she wasn't able to block. She screamed and fell.

Axdrane smiled happily and clapped her hands together. The blades pointed down at Leashex and zoomed down on her. There was a squelching sound that most would accompany with many knives being shot at a tomato from different angles, and Leashex dropped flat to the ground. Her body sank into the ground below, and the blades clattered on the ground, and there was a suffocating silence.

Venxik, and the rest of the Heartless (minus Axdrane) sat with their jaws agape and Interfecit appeared in Venxik's hand. His face was grim and he was slowly walking up to Axdrane, ready to destroy her when a firm hand grasped his shoulder. He spun around to see Leashex with her index finger at her lips and she vanished from sight, and appeared behind Axdrane, Chaos and Anarchy at her throat.

"It's over Axdrane, obviously you don't know who you're dealing with. It is never easy to kill an enchantress with such pathetic tactics." She whispered in the other Heartless' ear.

"But, how? I just killed you! I made you a pincushion!" She shrieked in reply.

"Simple enough, I am a being of the darkness, just like anyone else here. I was able to meld with the ground below me, and pop up behind you and end the fight."

Axdrane tried in vain to punch Leashex, but couldn't without cutting herself on the two blades that were closed around her throat. She dismissed her two gauntlets and dropped her head after the blades were pulled away.

She growled slightly and twisted around to deliver a spin kick to Leashex' head, only to have her foot get grabbed by Leashex. Without a word, Leashex lifted Axdrane off the ground and threw her at the small group of Heartless, making her head collide with Xunahs' head.

Leashex turned around and faded into the night, with Venxik close behind her.

Maxjisne slapped Axdrane in the back of the head and yelled "Dude! You just got owned!" She looked down at the now unconscious Xunahs, and contentedly kicked him hard in the shins and left, leaving Raynx to wander the castle.

* * *

"Capricorn…" Mo muttered.

He looked at Capricorn with a mix of fear and hatred. Kevin couldn't tell which one outweighed the other.

"Capricorn… Wait a second…. No way!" 

Kevin immediately remembered where he had seen the name. In the pages of _Inkheart._ Vortex hummed and Kevin glared at Capricorn. He had read only a small number of the atrocities that Capricorn had wrought and hated him deeply. He leaped at Capricorn, Vortex ready to strike, only to have Vortex get grabbed by an ashen grey hand.

He looked down to see what had grabbed him and a look of sheer terror spread across his face. _The Shadow! This is really the same Capricorn!_ He sent a bolt of lightning crashing down onto the now cherry red, featureless face of the Shadow. It released its grip and Kevin landed, and jumped back as far as he could. He landed roughly on his behind and the terror, for some reason couldn't leave him.

The Shadow stood about eight feet tall, it's body was grey as ash and it was very human like. The only thing that was different between it and a human was that it had no face.

Many of the people left in the room screamed in terror and hid in the spring behind them. The Black Prince, Mo, Jasmine, Tom, Ashlee and Andrea all surrounded Kevin. Each had their own weapons drawn and ready to strike.

Kevin stood up and looked at Mo and the Black Prince who firmly nodded at him. Mo's and the Black Prince's faces were set in scowls.

"So, Capricorn, please explain how you came back. I made The Shadow kill you, and then I destroyed The Shadow itself!"

Capricorn laughed and said, "Ah, well, I can't really say. I feel so much lighter since I came back, but I still have a vengeance for you, Silvertongue. Actually, I think I will let you know what I know about my rebirth. The Silver Prince made a pact with Death. He is truly immortal now, and Death brought The Shadow and I back to assist the Silver Prince."

Mo looked at Capricorn, and then The Shadow. His face showed his obvious fear. _How on earth had the Silver Prince made a pact with Death? Did my book really do that?_ Mo thought, he looked at Fenoglio, who was standing protectively in front of Meggie and Farid. Meggie was standing there and appeared to be in shock, and Farid was trembling with fear.

Kevin looked at the Nobodies in front of him and then at The Shadow.

"Two days, Silvertongue. Two days and the Silver Prince will be given immortality. If I were you, I would destroy him fast!"

There was a wisp of smoke and ash, and The Shadow and Capricorn vanished. The people in the cave looked around nervously and Fenoglio, Meggie and Farid slowly walked behind Mo and Meggie hugged her father.

"Mo, what does this mean? Capricorn and The Shadow are back! We can't possibly destroy them again!"

A frown creased over Mo's face and he stroked his daughter's hair comfortingly. Farid angrily kicked a stone into the water and he ran into the tunnels of the cave.

Meggie looked up at Mo, who watched Farid run away.

"The poor boy is still upset about Dustfinger's death. I wish we could do something about it." He muttered.

Meggie ran after Farid, with Kevin, Tom, Andrea, Jasmine and Ashlee following close behind. After ten minutes of navigating tunnels, Kevin and his group saw Meggie and Farid lean over a man that was dead. Farid had his head buried in the man's chest and he was hitting the ground next to the man's head.

"Farid… I'm sorry; I shouldn't have read that poem out loud. Orpheus was replaced, I wish there was something I could do to make up for it." Meggie whispered, her hand on Farid's shoulders.

There was a burst of smoke by the opposite wall of the room and there was a sharp laugh.

"Oh, but Meggie, there is something you can do to bring back Dustfinger."

The Shadow appeared out of the ground, and Capricorn stood next to it.

"Just quietly die, and stay out of my way!" He roared.

The Shadow lunged at Meggie, but was quickly intercepted by Vortex and Frost. A flurry of sharp stones and a purple chakram that was thrown by Jasmine zoomed at Capricorn. The Shadow sprang into action and absorbed all of the hits. The rocks melted and the chakram vanished. It glowed cherry red and made a noise that sounded like crackling flames. It threw the two Keyblades aside and tried its attack on Meggie again.

A purple sphere surrounded it and pushed it into the ground. After the Gravity spell dissipated, there was only a pile of ash remaining. Andrea shot a ball of ice at the pile, which caused it to get encased in ice. Ashlee jumped at Capricorn and snapped her blue whips at his chest. He blocked them with his sword and let them get wrapped around the weapon. He savagely ripped the sword and flung Ashlee into Jasmine, and crushed them against the cave wall.

There was a snap as one of the two girl's bones broke and Capricorn jumped at Tom, who blocked him with a wall of stone, and Kevin and Andrea were about to help their fellow Nobody, but they turned around at the sound of hissing steam and saw the ice melting around a red pile of ash. Water and steam went everywhere and the Shadow stood up, facing the two. It let out a shriek of fury and leaped at the two.

They jumped to the side, and it landed on the pale body of Dustfinger, and Farid only had a couple of seconds to avoid getting devored by The Shadow. Dustfinger's body erupted in flames, and The Shadow absorbed the ashes.

Meggie looked around at the chaotic scene, there were scorch marks everywhere, two of the fighters were knocked unconscious, and Capricorn and The Shadow were fighting as strongly as if this was a part of their daily routine. She watched as Dustfinger's body disappeared and watched a twisted smile spread over Capricorn's face.

"Shadow! Enough fooling around! Destroy the girl!" He bellowed.

Meggie looked on in horror as The Shadow lunged at her. He heard Mo, who had entered the cavern scream her name, but the only thing that had her attention was the figure that jumped in between her and The Shadow.

"Meggie! Get out of the way!" The person yelled. It took her only a second to realize it was Kevin that had landed in front of her.Kevin yelled in pain as The Shadow made contact with him. A torrent of flame surrounded him, and he vanished, leaving only a small pile of ash left on the ground that was getting slowly absorbed by The Shadow.

A deathly silence fell over the small room, and The Shadow and Capricorn left through a portal made from The Shadow's ashes.

* * *

Author's Note: Wait a second… Did I just write the death of Kevin? Well, who knows, if Kevin is gone, who will be left to take over for the group? Would it be Andrea? Ashlee? Maybe Jasmine or Tom? Who knows! As for Venxik and the Silver Prince, time is running out for our now group of four to defeat the Prince before he gains immortality. Finally, Axdrane's weapons and abilities are revealed!

* * *

Orpheus: A very egotistical man that has the ability to read things out of books merely by reading a sentence that they are involved in. He is the self-acclaimed master of this trade, but has had his laws concerning his abilities, shattered by Meggie Folchart.

The Shadow: A demonic entity made by fusing magic with the ashes of deceased creatures. It has the ability to reform even after it has been torn apart, and can travel anywhere at will. It also has the ability to instantly destroy anything it touches, turning that thing or creature into a pile of ash, which are added to the body of The Shadow. It is commanded by Capricorn and is able to take Capricorn to different sections of the world with it.

Dustfinger (Deceased): A fire-eater that was considered a master of his art. He had died after he gave up his life to bring Farid to life, after he (Farid) had been murdered.

* * *

As a plea from Kee: Puh-leeze review, I have no idea if people are reading this or not! (I know Jazmyn is, because I see her at school) and Sauron's inaudible grunts are a terrible answer to whether or not he reads the fanfic. 


	12. Moving Out

Author's Note: Yep, this one is taking a long time to do; last chapter smacked me in the face with a massive chunk of writer's

Author's Note: Yep, this one is taking a long time to do; last chapter smacked me in the face with a massive chunk of writer's block. Anyways, I strongly agree with my three reviews, I have been thinking about that for a while now, which caused some forehead hitting, but this is my first fanfic and all, let's not forget that.

* * *

Chapter Twelve: Moving Out

Xunahs and Axdrane sat alone on a sand dune in the middle of a massive desert. Xunahs had a bandage wrapped around his forehead and a scowl set in his face. He recently brought up the question with his lover next to him why he was always the one of comedy relief. Sure, he hasn't shown his abilities in battle, but he was as good as any of the others around him.

He stood up and made a long stretch and a loud yawn. Neither one of the two seemed to be bothered in the slightest when it came to the scorching heat or the sandy winds. Behind them were plains of steadily drying grass and in front of them was a desert that stretched beyond the horizon, and even further beyond that were mountains that are said to break through even the atmosphere of this world and were partially in space.

To their west was the castle of an evil and cruel king, hell-bent on dominating this world and ruthlessly destroying anyone that came in his way. This world also had a strange magic that flowed around odd words, and the spells were a lot harder to release here than in the worlds they had previously visited.

For any competent magician in this world, using a fire spell was the easiest thing thinkable, but being able to call down a single bolt of lightning could be possibly fatal while calling down a flurry of lightning bolts was considered child's play in the group of worlds they had come from.

Even though the spells here were different, the variety that could be used was near limitless, it was even possible to control the thoughts and actions of other people simply by saying something that was called 'their true name' and using other words from the magical language to force them to do your bidding.

Xunahs was about to nod off when Axdrane's hand went to his shoulder and roughly shook him. He snapped his eyes open and saw a group of disgusting, ogre-like creatures marching through the desert. They all had crude weapons, and odd horns that were black. Even though they were far away, their stench reached the noses of Axdrane and Xunahs.

She wrinkled her nose and watched the marching group of monsters and ducked a bit when one of them turned around, facing them and appeared to be sniffing the air. It pointed its club at the two Heartless and roared a guttural battle cry and charged, with its group close behind it.

Axdrane sighed and stood up. Her gauntlets in her hands, and Xunahs stood up beside her. A long, green, two-handed sword was in his hand. He swung it around in an arc deftly as a small warm up, and charged into the midst of the approaching attackers.

Xunahs almost laughed as he easily parried the blows made by the monster's crude weapons, and laughed even harder as he weaved around their massive bodies, easily cleaving some of the beasts in two.

One smacked him on the back of the head, and he felt his vision blur. He fell onto the hot desert floor, and a grin cracked across his face. A thick, purple vapour escaped from his mouth and nostrils as he turned around and faced the attacking monsters that were ready to maul him. They all groaned in pain and collapsed, and within seconds, they were all dead.

Axdrane stood dumbfounded and watched as the purple cloud dissipated into the winds. When it was fully gone, she ran down to Xunahs and embraced him.

"Xunahs! That was amazing! What happened?"

She gasped and removed her hand as she saw a small amount of blood on it. She looked at the back of his head and noticed a fragment of his skull had gone missing. She heard the sound of hands clapping behind her and whipped her head around to see a lone man wearing a coal black armor, with an equally as black cape standing behind her and her unconscious compainion. He continued to clap his hands. The visor on his helmet that had hidden his face made it impossible to identify the man.

"Good job young man, your display of power was truly amazing. I wonder if you could join me."

He kneeled over the unconscious Heartless' head, and muttered, "waise heill." The flesh and bone mended together again and Xunahs' breathing became regular. The armor wearing man turned around and began to walk away.

"In all my years of study, I never knew Heartless to have romances." He muttered under his breath. "Perhaps, the all seeing king has more to learn than what is beyond his domain."

A small gust of sand enveloped him and he disappeared, leaving Axdrane and an injured Xunahs to get back to the Castle That Never Was.

* * *

Venxik approached and bowed before the now physically fit Silver Prince, and as the prince of silver, he wore the silver armor Venxik had left for him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Capricorn, who gazed down on him with a cold stare. It was enough for Venxik to look away to be able to only see the Prince. Mortola, the Magpie scuffled up onto the raised platform the silver throne of the price it sat on and bowed before the Prince, and his esteemed guest.

"I have collected the tribute as you asked. They are waiting in the dungeons. Please, if you would be so kind, follow me. Mortola, you will come too." The Prince said, his voice was a lot easier to listen to; it had the venom of a snake in it.

Venxik did as the prince asked and followed the Magpie down the straight hallways and down a winding flight of stairs into the black dungeon. After a few seconds in the dungeon, a smirk spread across his face. _I'd say it's time to play a little game._

* * *

Raynx darted back and forth through the shadows the buildings from Radiant Garden had given them. Venxik had told him to follow Xehanort and find out what he was doing. Raynx grinned happily when he was given this knowledge. Apparently, Venxik had someone working for him that he did not trust, and Raynx could use that to his advantage.

Soon he found himself in between two large rocky slopes. He remembered being here when he was a human, using Heartless as practice for his job as an assassin. He stealthily followed the Heartless that was apparently the ruler of Radiant Garden up the small slope and soon saw a large castle. Raynx grinned as Xehanort opened a portal to probably go to this tower's sister castle that was known as the Villain's Vale.

He darted through the portal as it started to close and found himself on an island that had a warm and relaxing breeze blowing through several palm trees. He saw an islet that was pretty much a sandy platform that was well above the ground and water. He jumped on top of the makeshift wooden bridge next to him that connected the small islet and saw a teen that had silver hair and his back was turned to Raynx. His outfit was form fitting and was a dark purple, and what Raynx thought was an odd, blue-yellow hula skirt was wrapped around the teen's waste

He almost yelped when he noticed the Keyblade in the teen's hand, it was long and shaped very much like a demon wing, but it had a small white angel wing attached to the blade. The keychain was the Heartless insignia, which had confused Raynx massively.

_A dark… Keyblade? How is that possible?_

At that second, a grin spread across his thin lips. _Wait a second; this guy has a Keyblade! He seems to be a dark being too. What if, I were to use him to destroy Venxik?_

Throwing caution to the winds, Raynx stood up and approached the teen. He reached his hand up to grab the teen's shoulder and stopped as he felt a blade held up against his throat. Just a few inches from where his hand was, the standing teen's body flickered from existence.

Raynx grinned happily, showing his pointed teeth and pushed the weapon with his hands. He almost laughed as he heard his attacker grunt with effort when he was trying to keep Raynx from pushing it away. When the weapon was at a safe distance, Raynx grabbed the teen's arm and threw him over his shoulder and into the water. There was a large splash and an explosion of darkness, and Ansem was standing in the teens spot.

"Such amazing strength for someone with such an amazingly thin build!" He said, while clapping his hands. "I see you decided to follow me. Did Venxik send you after me? It's a shame. I was hoping you were not going to be one of his petty dogs that jump through hoops for him."

Raynx left eye twitched at being called petty, but bit back his retort. Just in case Ansem was being the 'petty dog' of Venxik and trying to find out who was trying to go against him.

"Well Ansem, what are you doing here? Where is this?" Raynx asked, hoping to change the subject.

"This," Ansem replied "is a remnant of the world your master used to live on as a human. I came here hoping to learn something about him."

_It would be best that I did not bring up why I am __**really**__ here, or that could arouse his suspicions even more._

Raynx grunted in reply and looked around at the ocean, its water appeared to be falling into the black abyss about thirty feet from the shore.

"Well, I suppose you should return to your master and report your findings. Perhaps you should get him a treat while you're at it. After all, every master likes a dog that knows how to kiss up." Ansem said, waving his hand dismissively.

Raynx glared at the older Heartless and for a second, he thought about attacking him.

_If I were to attack him, and possibly kill him, Venxik may believe that I am standing against him, which of course, I am. Then again, let's think about how Ansem talks about Venxik. He doesn't seem to care. What if, he doesn't want to be on Venxik's side, and possibly wants to usurp him?_

"You are not with Venxik, are you? It would seem pretty obvious to me." They said to each other, in unison.

Both were taken surprised by what the other had said.

_So, he is on to me. Let's see where this goes._

* * *

Andrea was slumped against the damp stone wall of the cavern they had battled in. She was in a daze by the events she had just witnessed. All of the people with her; Meggie, Farid, Mo, Jasmine, Tom and Ashlee were relatively unharmed. They only suffered a few minor scratches. Andrea herself had no _flesh _wounds, but her spirit was crushed.

Kevin had died.

Everyone in the room was in shock as much as she was. The Black Prince, upon hearing the news was upset by this and mumbled something about useless poetry and sat down petting his bear. Farid was weeping heavily, crying out Dustfinger's name at the same time, he was cursing Dustfinger for bringing him back.

Most of the things said by the inhabitants of this world were confusing. Meggie, Mo and Farid kept on cursing the words and Mo seemed to hate the world more than he hated Capricorn.

"C'mon Andrea, we need to go. _He_ might come back." Tom said, stretching out his hand for Andrea to grab.

At first, she was stubborn, but after a bit more coaxing, she grabbed the hand and followed Tom, Ashlee and Jasmine out of the cave as they headed to the underground pond.

At the shore, there were many scared people, mothers, children and fathers all hugged eachother, weeping on the shoulders of their loved ones. Andrea saw them and for the first time realized how big a threat Capricorn was. She glared coldly at the entrance that Capricorn had come in from and summoned Frost to her hand. It hummed and cold air drifted off of, leaving a patch of fog at her feet. She jumped as a hand gripped her shoulder. She turned around to be staring into the face of the Black Prince.

He was frowning; his bear next to him was licking his paw lamely. Tom stood at Andrea's side and looked at the Prince, as well as Andrea and Jasmine.

"Ice Charmer." He said, looking at Andrea "You and your friends are wanted, by me, to join us with our meeting. If Capricorn has found our hideout, it obviously means that the Adderhead's men are going to follow the next time around. We want you and your friends to join us."

She made an amused grin, which was hard, considering what had happened earlier. _Well, what do you know? Unless there is someone infront of me that only the Black Prince can see, it appears that I have been given a nickname!_

She nodded and smiled at the Black Prince, and noticed Mo behind him. Mo was wearing his leather Bluejay mask and he seemed somewhat grim.

He let go, patted her shoulder and set off. Mo walked forward and shook Andrea's, Ashlee's and Tom's hands.

"I saw what happened with your friend. Kevin was his name, right? It is not right that this had to happen to him. I feel fully responsible for what happened to him. Even though Capricorn had... Well... You know. Even though Capricorn did _that, _I can't help but feel responsible. I should have never opened that book." He whispered the final words.

Hearing Mo get mad at a book confused Andrea. What kind of power could a simple book have over a world?

Mo smiled at her, seeing the confusion on her face and said, "The book is a very powerful thing. It is a gateway between worlds. We can open those gates by reading the words on paper that involves that world. With our voices, we can even pull things out of another world such as money, or even a person."

Andrea was sceptical. After all, how could a feat like that be possible? Mo simply smiled at her in a fatherly way. Andrea smiled back, but her face showed the scepticism clearly.

"Trust me Andrea, it's the truth. I have ruined too many lives with this gift and caused so many problems. My gift is the whole reason what had just happened, happened." He said sadly.

He heaved a sigh, and motioned for the four of them to follow him. Meggie and Farid joined with them and they walked together to the room where the meeting would be held.

* * *

"Wake up mister! Wake up!"

"Mama! There is someone new here!"

"Mama! He won't wake up!"

"Settle down children. He is probably just tired, let him rest. First, however, maybe we should brush this soot and ash off of him."

"Okay mama!"

* * *

Venxik stood on the Altar of Naught, looking at the other Heartless that stood in front of him. They all looked at him grimly. Axdrane and Xunahs were holding hands, while Somaxth and Xochitl were glancing sideways at each other, wondering what was happening.

Leashex appeared next to Venxik, who began to speak.

"Everyone, all of my Heartless, all of my companions in this war for darkness. We must show our worth as rulers of this castle. We must send the Nobodys that choose to stay; we must send them out of this castle at once. Negotiation with them is nigh impossible, I have tried a few times with their leader, Gabrielle the Sorcerer, and yet she chooses to stay. So, I say we ravage the castle and send out the Nobodys. They have already released two other Nobodys we held captive."

"So what? All they did was release two Nobodys from captivity! Who gives a damn?" Raynx yelled. He was severely annoyed about having his nap being interrupted.

"There is more than one 'damn' that I give about this, Raynx. We are supposed to plunge the world into everlasting darkness. They are the species that are most lacking in numbers. We must destroy them before moving on to humanity. As for your question: The two Nobodys released from captivity were powerful. One was an ex-member of this castle's old inhabitants, and the other was a witch that could warp the minds of people that had been in contact with the previous Weilder, Sora. Meaning that you, your brother, Axdrane and myself could possibly be at risk to her witchcraft. After all, our human selves have all met with Sora at one point."

Raynx grumbled and was about to turn away, along with the bored Maxjisne when Venxik smiled curtly and opened his mouth once again.

"We are going to make them leave through violence."

This grabbed Raynx' and Maxjisne's attention and they faced Venxik, now fully paying attention to what he had to say.

"Raynx, I would like you to handle the basement. That would appear to be where the Assassins and Dancers appear most.

Maxjisne, please take care of Havoc's Divide, the Berserkers have seemed to make it their encampment.

Axdrane and Xunahs, I would like you to go to the Skyscraper of Naught. The Nobodys there have eliminated the area of Heartless, and are now trying to live there. The Nobodys there are the Dragoons and Gamblers, I believe.

Leashex, take care of the corridors, there are hundreds of Creepers and Dusks there.

Finally, I would like Somaxth and Xochitl to deal with the Sorcerers and the Warp Snipers. They are causing problems in the entrance of the castle."

"I will take on the Samurai that are inhabiting the research labs. Now I want all of you to go, and proceed with caution. The leaders of the Nobodys can be dangerous. The way to tell if they are a leader or not is by the outfit they wear. If they wear an armor of some sort they are most likely a leader. Now go."

They all separated and within moments were at their destinations. Venxik smiled and went to the labs. Hoping he could confront this mysterious Samurai leader that had single handedly wiped out the entire group of Invisible Heartless that inhabited the labs.

* * *

"Dear God! That is the fifteenth Berserker in five minutes! When will these stupid idiots smarten up and go find some other crappy world to inhabit? Seriously! Just send your damn leader out so I can kill him already!" Maxjisne screamed in exasperation.

She felt a claymore smack her in the back and she only wobbled on the spot. She spun around, both of her swords flaring to reflect her annoyance and found herself looking at a group of twenty Berserkers.

A thin smile creased her lips, and she muttered "Finally, some fun."

She charged at the lead Berserker, Moon Blade impaling it in the dead center. She spun around, using Moon Blade as a grip and cleaved off the heads of three more Berserkers. The first four faded from existence, and she sent both her swords ablaze and rapidly destroyed the remaining sixteen, the smile never left her face.

A frown removed her smile because the Berserkers would not appear anymore.

"C'mon out you bearish bastards! I am not done yet!" She yelled up at the rafters.

There was a roar, that sounded eerily human and another group of Berserkers, this time there was forty. Had surrounded her. All of them were staring at her coldly.

She gave her thin-lipped grin and dashed into the group of Berserkers again. Both swords were ablaze once again. This time, however, she had to fight a bit more cautiously. After she had slain fifteen of the Nobodys around her, ten of them leapt up into the air, channelled their size and strength into their claymores and dived at the ground. The simultaneous impact of the ten had ripped apart several of the Berserkers that were standing by, and had been enough to show signs of damage on Maxjisne.

Except, they were only a few scratches.

She smiled sweetly and jumped into the air. Both her blades grew white hot and she aimed her body and her blades at the ground, very much in the same fashion as the Berserkers had done. When she met the ground, however, there was an explosion of black flame that incinerated all of the surrounding Nobodys.

She stood up and brushed the dust off of her clothes. Many spots in the room were charred black.

"Young Heartless, you have done well." A deep voice said from behind her.

She spun around to see a lone Berserker standing on a space of charred ground. Its face was revealed, unlike the faces of its comrades. It was battle scarred, and had a set in grin. He was wearing a suit of crystalline armor. The armor had a border of silver along its edges. Maxjisne realized that this Berserker was clapping its hands together. He seemed different compared to the others of his kin. His body was slightly smaller, and his features were more human-like.

Hovering around him was a massive broad sword that Maxjisne herself was uncertain that she could carry alone. Its blade seemed to be made out of the same material as his armor, but the hilt. She could not tell what it was made of. Whatever it was though, it pulsed with strong energy.

"My name is Gard. I believe we should get formalities out of the way before we fight to the death." Gard said, making a short bow.

She bowed in return, "Why thank you Leader Gard. I am Maxjisne. I have been given orders to vanquish you and your buddies here."

"Sadly enough, that won't happen."

"We'll see about that."

"Indeed we will."

* * *

Author's Note: Here she is! Chapter twelve! And by far, my biggest chapter (weighing in at 9 pages and nearly 4000 words! Many things have happened here. All of these events will indeed be connected in the long run. Just how will they be connected you ask? Well my dear reviewers, lets find out, shall we? I can't believe how many parts I put in!

Leader Gard: The leader of the Berserkers. Unlike the others, Gard is chivalrous and polite. However, like the others, Gard will not step down until the end.


	13. War and Kidnapping

* * *

Author's Note: Dear God! That chapter was a pain to do… More than once, I got a massive roadblock while doing it. But, in this chapter, Maxjisne's fight with Gard will begin, and quite possibly conclude. (That was the part I enjoyed doing most, so I am mentioning it… Honourably so.)

Firestorm Studios: Thanks for the review and the 'epic!' I thought your review was quite GLORIOUS!

SkyLandOcean: Thanks for those reviews! I am glad you are liking the story!

* * *

Chapter 13: War and Kidnapping

"Is everyone here?" The Black Prince called, sitting in a large cavern. There were only a dozen people around him.

Meggie, Mo, Tom, Ashlee, Andrea, Farid, Fenoglio, and the Black Prince. Yep, they were all there.

"As most of us know, the only way to win a war is to plan it out. So, that is why you are all here. Some of you –" He looked at Meggie and Farid, "came of your own free will, and were not asked. If you two were not as important as you are, there would have been major consequences. As for Ice Charmer, Stone Thrower and Spellbinder, (Andrea, Tom, Ashlee, in that order.) you were invited to join because you are crucial to our plans for taking down the Adderhead."

"Time is growing short. He must somehow have been able to make deals with Death. After all, Capricorn has returned, and it seems obvious that he is acting under the Adderhead's orders. What we need to do is figure out some way that we can rally everyone up that can help us to take down the Adderhead. It will of course be dangerous, but for the sake of our people, we must sacrifice a few lives. Their deaths, if they do happen to come will not be for nothing."

"So, Bluejay, do you have any suggestions?" He asked, turning towards Mo.

He raised his hands defensively "Prince! Once again, you are forgetting that I am only a bookbinder, nothing more!"

"Okay Bluejay. I guess even as a thief you would not have any plans handy. We are in a bit of a rut, aren't we? The only ones of us that have constantly made it in and out of The Castle of Night are Dustfinger and Roxanne." Farid flinched when the Prince said 'Dustfinger'. "Roxanne has returned to her farm and things in Ombra are looking bad. Soldiers under The Adderhead's command have stormed the city and have taken it, as well as the kingdom of Ombra as his own."

* * *

Venxik walked solemnly up the staircase again to the throne room of The Adderhead. Mortola the Magpie was close behind him; her cold eyes did not leave him for a second. He walked into the throne room and stood before The Adderhead and Capricorn.

"Silver Prince, it would seem as though you are trying to cheat on our deal. We are missing five people. Due to the large amount of time it has been since we have started the deal, these five people need to be far stronger than the average soldier in both body and soul." He said, making a short bow.

Capricorn turned to his Prince. "I have found a cave that contains most of the Motley Folk, as well as five people that had sorcerous powers. Sadly enough, I had to destroy one. He was definitely an odd one. He protected the witch and held an odd weapon. Actually, he bears a striking resemblance to Death." He jerked his thumb at Venxik.

Venxik's eyebrows visually lifted at the comment and he bowed again.

"I would like to escort Capricorn to this cave and escort the four remaining people as well as this 'witch'. I don't need your permission, so I am going with him now." He turned around, gesturing for Capricorn to follow him.

Capricorn was a bit reluctant at first, but followed Venxik through a portal, with The Shadow in tow. The Adderhead sat in his throne, glaring angrily at Venxik and the sheer ignorance of his actions, and than at Capricorn for leaving him. No one was allowed to betray the Silver Prince. Not even Death himself.

* * *

"Ugh… Where am I?"

"Please lie down child. You are badly burnt. If these embers would stop floating around, it would be easier to address your wounds. My name is Gloria. What's yours?"

"My name? It's Kevin. Where is this? Why is it so grey and why are there so many embers floating around?" He replied.

"Yay! Mister is awake! Yay mama!"

"Oh Jennifer, not so loud. He just woke up." Gloria said to the young girl soothingly. "Please get mama and Kevin some tea."

Jennifer nodded and ran down the grey corridor.

"Gloria, how are you able to live down here? This is all just a grey and ember covered world." Kevin asked, looking at Gloria questioningly.

She only laughed, and said, "Well Kevin, it is only fair that you know that I am not alive, Jennifer isn't alive, and you aren't alive. We are the souls of the people devoured by The Shadow. You probably are wondering why I asked for tea. Well, I asked Jennifer to get tea because The Shadow still for some reason will take care of us and supply us with food and drink when need be. However, if we try to escape, there will be consequences."

"Well, I guess there will have to be consequences, now will there? I have a friend to protect." He said, getting out of the makeshift bed.

When his feet touched the floor he gasped. His usual blue clothes weren't there. Luckily, there were clothes on. He was wearing a long cloak the reached from his shoulders to the floor, and it covered him entirely, even his hands had gloves, and he had a hood attached to the back.

"What happened? Where are my clothes?" He asked, looking at Rose, who had the exact same wardrobe.

"All people that are taken into The Shadow wear this robe. It is one of the few laws that govern this world. I implore that you remain here for a little longer. You are a bit pale, ad your pulse is hard to detect."

Kevin laughed and said, "Two things, one: How can a being with no heart have a pulse? I am a Nobody. Two: I am going to get out of here and protect my friends. They need my help. I can just tell. Do not try to stop me. I can take any consequences thrown at me."

He smiled happily as a spark appeared in his left hand and Vortex was in his right hand.

"Glad you agree Vortex."

Gloria glared and her skin turned grey… Grey as the ash around them.

"I WILL NOT LET YOU DEFILE THIS SACRED GROUND!"

She lunged at him; her arms were long, ashen spears. Kevin brought up Vortex to parry the blow, and shoved his left hand at her forehead, loosing a ball of electricity. There was an explosion, and the body fell and faded into the ground.

"What the hell? How did that happen?" He asked, jumping clear over the place Gloria had fallen. He was curious, but it would be better if he got out as soon as possible.

He ran through the corridor, and saw Jennifer. She shrieked and jumped at Kevin, trying to tear at him with ashen claws. She was dispatched easily with another ball of lightning.

After an hour of running and destroying people that had become Mini Shadows, Kevin ran into a dead end and turned around to see a group of ten Mini Shadows following him.

He held Vortex at the ready and looked at the group of approaching monsters.

"Oh, this will be fun."

* * *

The war meeting was cut short. The cave was in anarchy. Capricorn and The Shadow had broken in. Mo and the Black Prince were injured and were being tended to by Nettle.

Andrea, Ashlee, Tom and Jasmine were told to stay behind to protect Farid and Meggie. Mo had known somehow that Capricorn was coming for them in particular. Sometimes it was spooky how accurate he was.

There were reports of a teenaged male wandering with Capricorn, lamely pointing at random men, women and children. Every time he did so, something that could only be described as darkness was shot at them. Yes, pure, unadulterated darkness.

Tom peered around the corner of the cavern, but stopped in his return when he felt a blade at his neck, and heard the muffled cries of the people behind him.

"Death, what do you think we should do with the Arab child? Farid was his name wasn't it?" Capricorn asked, keeping his sword trained on Tom's neck, and mentally telling The Shadow to keep the mouths of the other four closed tight.

"Well Capricorn, it seems pretty obvious. He isn't what we need. I say we just leave him unconscious." Death replied to the man.

Andrea screamed, and her eyes widened. That voice was all too familiar.

She glanced up at where the voice was coming from. She saw the face that the mouth was attached to that had spoke. She screamed once again and blacked out.

"Heh, Andrea has fainted. What a shame… We must gather these others and take them back to the Adderhead. After all, he needs a hundred people to be slain for him to gain immortality. Maybe one of these children could be his maidservant."

He placed the five in dark spheres and took them through a portal that lead back to the castle.

* * *

"Bring out the prisoners!" The Adderhead roared. Within moments, the 95 prisoners were in the throne room and ready to be sacrificed

"To make this work," Venxik said, stepping up. "You must destroy all one hundred of these people by using The Shadow. You must start with the commoners, move onto the Royal Guard, than the Magpie, and finally, these five." He jerked his thumb lazily at the five people that were bound by bands of darkness.

The Adderhead walked towards Andrea, ignoring the screams and cries of terror as The Shadow did its work quickly. He roughly lifted her chin and inspected her face.

"A fine lady indeed. Maybe she could be my wife and bear the child that will take my throne when I pass on." He cooed lovingly.

Andrea snapped into consciousness at that comment and spat in his face.

"Yeah right you sick fuck! You are an old man, and I would never do that with any evil son of a bitch king!" She shrieked.

Her eyes became dazed and she fell unconscious again. The Shadow was getting closer; it was taking its first Royal Guard. After them, Mortola would be sacrificed, and then Andrea.

* * *

Kevin dispatched the ten monsters when he heard a shriek. It was distant, but he could hear it. He remembered when he accidentally hit the wall behind him; he could see a slight glimmer of light, and a woman… A woman that was screaming. He shivered and looked at the wall.

* * *

By this point, The Shadow was advancing on Mortola. She glared at it with anger, and than looked pleadingly at her son Capricorn. He stared at her coldly and turned his head as she was engulfed by flame.

* * *

Kevin stared at the wall and slashed at it. Sure enough, a gap had appeared, making a window to the outside world. Through the window, he saw an unconscious Andrea, and an ashen hand reaching out for her.

This time, he got angry. He focused his strength into his arms and prepared to attack the wall yet again. He let electricity course through Vortex and he lunged at the wall, the black cloak made a flapping noise behind him. He was surrounded by light, and someone yelled "Kevin!"

He turned around, facing a gaping hole in the head of The Shadow. Small white-blue orbs were shooting out of it and disappearing into the ceiling. Kevin shot a volley of lightning balls at it and turned around as the wave of ash flew over him. The Shadow was dead.

He landed in front of Capricorn and grinned fiercely at him.

"Did you miss me?" He asked, and lunged at him.

Capricorn, without the protection of The Shadow was defenceless, and he was felled as Kevin and Vortex sliced him down the middle. There was yet another explosion, and all that was left of Capricorn was a pile of bones.

He faced the Adderhead, wearing brilliant silver armor, and an equally as brilliant sword was in his hand. The binding around Andrea, Ashlee, Tom, Jasmine and Meggie was lifted, and they stood up, all with the exception of Meggie and Andrea, who was still unconscious.

The Adderhead roared in fury. Darkness exploded around him. How dare these people take away his immortality? HOW DARE THEY?

He lunged at Kevin, who did not have time to protect himself, but a wall of rock stopped the Adderhead dead in his tracks. Ashlee's whips hung loosely from her hands and she glared at the Adderhead. Tom and Kevin lunged at the Adderhead, and high-fived each other, feeling a current of power rush between the two.

Kevin glowed a brilliant green and a stone axe was in his left hand, Tom glowed yellow and a lightning spear was in his right hand. Tom sank into the ground beside the Adderhead and moved under him. The spear ready to stab upwards. Kevin jumped high into the air, and aimed downward with the stone axe.

"Sacred meeting of the sky and earth!" The spear shot up and impaled the Adderhead, the axe met the spear halfway through and the combined energies caused an explosion. Shrapnel flew everywhere and embedded itself far into the walls of the throne room. Strangely enough, there was no blood or gore of any sort.

The room darkened slightly and a figure fell down from the rafters and stared at Kevin.

Kevin jumped back a few inches.

For the first time, the Nobody met his Heartless.

"Good job Kevin! Really good! I should have expected nothing less from a part of me! I am truly honoured to know that you and I once shared a body." He said. "My name is Venxik. Remember it, because it will be the last thing you hear."

A long, black, serrated sword appeared in his hand. It had the kanji for 'death' on its blade. Along the middle, there was a light blue streak. He lunged at Kevin, and he only had a second to move away. He barely got away, feeling the wind ruffle his hair. He yelled 'THUNDER!' and a large bolt came down and crashed on Venxik.

He shrugged it off like it was nothing and stood up shot wings out of his back to act as brakes. He floated in the air for a second, and gently came down. He glared at his Nobody with disgust.

"A disgrace." He spat, raising his left hand to the air.

He shot out a blast of dark energy and the sky became black as night, even though it was a spring day. Everything around them disintegrated into nothingness and the last thing Kevin could remember was dry heat and the taste of sand before passing out.

* * *

"Well Gard. I think we should get this battle started." Maxjisne said with a hint of happiness.

"It will be my pleasure." He said, bowing gracefully.

He readied his weapon and jumped into the air, diving at Maxjisne in a corkscrewing fashion. She parried the blow with relative difficulty. She actually began to sweat as she tried to withstand the attack and tried to block out the noise the sound of the grinding crystal made against her blade.

"Die damnit!" She screamed as she brought Moon Blade around to swing at Gard's head. She missed entirely as Gard's size was taken away and added to his own weapon. Moon Blade only made a light _ching _as it was ripped out of her hand and shot into a nearby wall by Gard's spinning. Now with the added size to the weapon, Maxjisne was ready to give in, and so she did. She fell down and sank into the ground, trying to get away from the deadly assault.

She came back out of the ground, both swords humming in her hands. She wasn't glaring. Her face was serene.

"Holy crap man! What the hell do you eat?" She shouted at the Nobody leader.

He grinned back at her.

"Well, in the morning, I have a balanced breakfast of Heartless and spinach. At lunch, I eat a hardy bowl of beef soup, and at dinner, I eat spaghetti." He chuckled softly, and so did Maxjisne.

"But let's finish this. You are harder than I thought, Gard." Flame erupted around her and ran along the blades of her twin swords.

She ran at the Berserker, melting portions of the floor with each step. She leaped up into the air when she was close enough and brought both blades down like an arch. Both connected with the Berserker. Neither did any noticeable damage.

Gard grunted in pain as his armor glowed and he fell backwards with a solid thump. He sank into the ground and disappeared.

Maxjisne dismissed her weapons and turned around with a contented "hmpf" and left through a portal.

* * *

Author's Note: There we go! Chapter Thirteen is the complete! Inkheart is now over with, and we are now moving on to our newest world. This chapter was probably crammed feeling, but I didn't want to stay here for that long. I can almost guarantee that later worlds will last far longer. Another note: Chapter One has been redone! I highly recommend that people re-read chapter one and later on, chapter two. The new wardrobe Kevin gets is indeed an Organization cloak. The reason he has that is explained in this chapter, and will be explained to anyone that wishes to ask me how it works out in a PM.

* * *

Jennifer: A young girl that was murdered by The Shadow. Her mother Gloria always watches over her. She, like every other resident spirit within The Shadow, she was a puppet used to protect The Shadow from the inside.

Gloria: A woman that was murdered by The Shadow. She always cares for Jennifer. Like every other resident spirit within The Shadow, she was a puppet used to protect The Shadow from the inside.

Mortola: Often called the Magpie. She brews many deadly potions and is the mother of Capricorn. She is vicious and evil and loves nothing more than to see people writhe in pain.

The Adderhead: The evil prince that rules one half of the Inkheart world. He will stop at nothing to reach immortality, even try to trick Death himself.


	14. Warriors of the Desert

Author's Note: The last chapter and Inkheart were short… Jasmine seemed to get a good snort out of Andrea's swearing… That is not the point however. Definitely I will not deny that. I don't know why I made both short; I guess I just didn't want to linger there. it was just a small world that didn't hold too much significance for me, the book however I loved very much. Cornelia Funke ftw!

* * *

SkyLandOcean: Thanks once again for the review; I am happy you agree with Andrea Thanks for saying the previous chapter was fantastic, I was feeling doubtful about it.

* * *

Chapter Fourteen: Warriors of the Desert

Raynx was walking down the corridors into the basements of the castle and abruptly came to a stop when he heard the sounds of a battle. He grinned happily and licked his lips and ran full speed down the dark hall. He stopped once more as two Assassins and two Dancers appeared before him, the cries of a new battle still going on down the hall. Raynx frowned slightly as a single thought passed through his mind.

Wait a second… Who the hell would be taking my Heartless? So help me God it better not be Venxik or Xunahs.

He impatiently blocked the combined attacks of the four Nobodys and shot a volley of dark balls at each of them. He didn't even bother to summon Dreggan to kill them. He ran past the vanishing Nobodys and saw a lone, armor clad man fighting off a large group of combined Assassins and Dancer Nobodys. He turned his head back and looked at Raynx lamely while throwing up a dark shield to parry the blows of his opponents while his head was turned.

"Well, are you just going to stand there gawking like an idiot, or are you going to help me destroy these buggers? All I wanted was a decent room to sleep in, and these Nobodys decided to attack me! First that stone throwing buffoon, and now these pathetic Nobodys! Will the torment ever cease?" He cried

Raynx heaved a sigh, and dashed into the crowd of Nobodys, dispersing them with a swipe of Dreggan, which for some reason had grown a foot longer than it should have been. Soon the other person joined him. He swung his bladed arms deftly, easily disposing of the Nobodys that were around them. If they dared to get close to them, that is.

Raynx and the other Heartless boxed in the remaining Dancers and Assassins and destroyed them with a combined dark attack.

"Wow, you are better than I thought. What is your name?" The man asked. A small glimmer of light revealed his armor to be dark purple, the Heartless sign was on it.

"My name is Raynx, who the hell are you?"

"My name? Heh. I am Rould, nice to make your acquaintance. Thanks for helping me with these buggery Nobodys… Christ, they piss me off!"

"We piss you off, do we? Heh, did you hear that Anil? Nobodys piss them off!" Someone said.

Raynx began to sweat with anticipation, he could finally fight a Nobody leader.

There was a sound that was like a slap, and the first voice whined slightly.

"Shut it Jan. Seriously, you are such a pest sometimes!" Anil cried in exasperation.

"Fine. I call the boring skinny hunk!" Jan squealed.

Rould laughed, Anil smacked her forehead, and Raynx groaned.

"Fine, I will take on the old man." Anil said in an even tone.

Rould lifted his head and narrowed his eyes

"Oi! Anil, who do you think you're calling old?" Rould yelled.

Anil made herself and Jan visible. Anil was silver, as most Nobodys were, but she wore a golden tunic with red rims and she wore shorts o the same design. She was an Assassin Nobody. Her face was nearly human, unlike the other Nobodys. She was crouched over just as other Assassins would be, and her arms and legs looked the same as they would for other Nobodys of the species.

As for Jan, she was taller than most Nobodys of her species, the Dancers. She wore a long pink dress. She wore yellow gloves and her face had a serene look to it.

Raynx was taken aback. Both Nobodys looked amazing, almost pretty. He blushed as he realized that he was staring at Jan. When she noticed, she squealed in delight and was about to pounce on him with a bear hug, but Anil restrained her. With a whine she stood back, looking dreamily at her soon-to-be opponent.

Raynx did his best to not care about Jan, but the hints of pink were still on his cheeks, making Jan's stare intensify, making Raynx' blush intensify. It was truly a vicious cycle.

"So, are you ready for those two?" All four people asked their partners at once. There was a moment of silence, and Jan let out a love struck squeal again.

* * *

Kevin woke up and groaned at how sore his arms and back felt. He sat up and stretched, only to realize that he was in a hot and dry desert. He almost let out a yelp, but was not able to after a hand closed over his mouth. He tried to elbow whoever it was, but stopped as he saw Andrea step in front of him, with Tom next to her. There was an even glare in both people's eyes, and Kevin was very confused.

Ashlee and Jasmine joined the other two in the glare, standing on either side of Tom and Andrea, but the hand was still over his mouth. Now he was _really_ confused. Who the hell had their hand over his mouth? He had a quick solution for the hand issue, but he was still confused. He wanted to ask the others what was happening, but he could not talk. Oh the issues of it all.

_Hmm… This hand is a bit dull. It could use a spit shine!_ He cried dramatically in his mind.

He dribbled out some spit and the bare hand was drawn away with a feminine shriek of disgust. He whipped around, the cloak he was wearing made sand plume up around him and he was staring at a glaring Naimine, who was rubbing her hand on the desert ground. She lifted her hand, and groaned in disgust as she saw sand caked to her palm.

Andrea walked up behind Kevin and whacked him over the head with the back of her hand.

"Well Kevin, want to know the interesting story I heard from Namine behind that cloak? Apparently, a group of people known as Organization XIII; why yes Kevin, the very same group of people Sora, Riku and Kairi were telling us about used to wear that! So please explain how the hell you got it!"

Kevin looked at the Nobodys that were around him and that were glaring at him and sighed.

"I have no clue how it got there! When I went into The Shadow, I was wearing this instead!" He turned back to Namine. "So, how did you get here and why?"

Namine shuffled her pale feet slightly and stared at the ground. "Rose wants you guys, especially Ashlee. Someone appeared at the store and is causing problems."

Ashlee groaned. "Who is it? You could have told me, y'know!"

"I was waiting for Kevin to wake up."

"Why?"

"Well you idiot, I do not think anyone wants to carry a sleeping person through a dark portal to an accessory store that is in Traverse Town."

"Ugh, fine."

He stood up with a groan and followed Namine and Ashlee through the portal. Jasmine wanted to stay because she liked the heat, and Andrea and Tom wanted to chat. That made Kevin glance at her with an amused grin.

The darkness swallowed them up, and they were facing Rose, who had a worried expression on her face.

"Welcome back you two. Where are Tom and Andrea? I trust they are doing fine."

"Why did you need us Rose?" Ashlee asked, embracing her grandmother.

She looked at Ashlee with troubled eyes and said "Well dear, something is happening in the Third District. There are loud noises, and the occasional scream. I don't know what is happening, but it seems to be in a controlled area, can you and Kevin go see what is happening?"

They both nodded and left for the Third District. It wasn't that hard to tell where it was, there were large signs pointing the way. As the got close to the huge wooden doors, they could hear large banging, and saw the door bulge slightly with each bang. They looked at each other, both curious and worried about what was happening beyond the doors. They each summoned their weapons and charged through the door, nearly getting slashed by a blue, jagged sword.

Kevin stared blankly at the seven foot tall, human shaped Heartless that had a heart-shaped hole in its chest, and switched his attention to the sword that was being swung at him. He brought up Vortex to block it, and got thrown back ten feet, landing roughly on his rear.

Kevin propped himself up with Vortex, flashed Ashlee a thumbs up, and went to her side, keeping Vortex up to block any sudden attacks.

"Hold its sword with one of your whips, and do the same with its wings, I will go in and attack it." He whispered.

She nodded, and closed in, immobilizing the Heartless' arms and wings with the whips. It thrashed, trying to break free and Kevin ran at it, Vortex humming in his hands. He leaped up at the Heartless and swung at it. He was thrown back by a kick, and with that momentary confusion, and the momentum from the kick, the Heartless broke free of its trap.

Its mouth opened into an amused grin and it spoke.

"I can see how you are the master's Nobody. You have nearly the same aura as he does, and you can think, unlike most Nobodys." It said, bowing.

"Also, unlike most Heartless. I have the power of human speech. While most of my kin speak through telepathy, I can speak with my mouth. My name is Krai, I am an Invisible Heartless, the most intelligent of my kind. Nice to meet and kill you."

Kevin was thrown off a bit, this guy was strong all right, and Ashlee was worried too. He stood up with a grunt and held his hand out for Ashlee to grab.

"We can't give up, he is strong. Sure, but still, we should try a bit harder. Okay?" He said, smiling.

She returned his smile. "Of course we can't give up. That would be stupid, wouldn't it?"

They were both standing, facing the Heartless.

"Nobodys: Such resilient creatures." Krai said with a chuckle.

Kevin charged at Krai, and Ashlee ran along side him, her whips trailing behind her like a line of fire. They both jumped up and came down striking at him. Krai swung his sword and Kevin jumped on top of it, and jumped off of it to get above Krai's head. He sent down a volley of thunder balls and landed on the ground lightly. He looked up at Krai with a grin on his face, only to see it mimicked. Krai wasn't harmed at all.

He flew up into the air and came down in an arc at Ashlee, missing her head by inches, but he clipped her shoulder with his long tail. She fell to the ground with a solid thud and Krai turned around to end the attack and the fight. He was about to fly again when his back arched back and he howled in pain.

He whipped around to see a lone man standing before him. He was wearing a black robe that covered his whole body, and a hood that hid his face. It was identical to Kevin's. In his right hand was a white weapon and in his left, a black. Kevin shuddered as he looked at them.

Keyblades.

* * *

Tom looked at the desert sand as it slowly darkened as dusk came. He sighed and looked over at Andrea.

"It sure is taking them a while, maybe we should go check." He suggested.

Andrea nodded, amazed by the sunset, but completely oblivious to Tom. Jasmine, who was standing behind them, practicing fighting stances with her chakram merely grunted in response.

"Well you guys are a load of fun!" He said with a sigh.

He lied down on his back and looked at the stars as they formed in the blue-orange sky. The night was coming, and it was bound to get cold soon, and the air was very dry. When did he last have water?

"We need to do something to protect us from the night! We don't know where we are or what lives here. We can each do something. Andrea can get us water, Jasmine can build us a fire, and I can make a shelter with a snap of my fingers!" With that, Tom snapped his fingers and a large, igloo-shaped structure made from sand appeared behind him.

Andrea sighed, and didn't move, and Jasmine still did fighting stances. Tom was getting exasperated to say the least.

"Can't you just do something besides sitting on your rear and playing with a burning disk?" He yelled at the two girls. They ignored him some more and he stomped off, making sure to destroy the igloo-shelter he made in a matter of seconds out of sand.

He walked over the nearest sand dune and nearly threw up. There was a pile of corpses. They were weird ogre-like creatures; they had giant black horns on their pale heads, and barely wore anything. There was blood splattered everywhere, and some of the bodies were cleaved in two. It was a combination of the sight and smell (mostly smell) that made him sick.

He was about to run back when he saw something amidst the pile of corpses move. Actually, they were all moving. The mangled bodies stood up and stared at him, their rotting, vulture pecked bodies faced him. He almost screamed in terror, but something held it down. Was it the terror he was trying to release? They shambled towards him, small pieces of rotting flesh dropping from them with each step.

This time, he did scream, and he also ran. Soon, he was with Jasmine and Andrea. They were both looking up at him; they heard him scream and were curious.

"I don't know what it was, but a bunch of dead monsters started moving, they stood up and…" He was hyperventilating, seeing moving corpses can do that to people.

Jasmine slapped him hard across the face and firmly held his chin and made him face her. He quickly explained what he saw and was gaining his composure, and Andrea and Jasmine both exchanged worried glances. What kind of world were they on?

"Well, even if there are demon zombies from beyond the grave, we should do something. After all, we don't want our brains to be devoured and become minions to some necromantic cult." Andrea said with a nervous giggle.

Jasmine looked at her and sighed and looked at the dune Tom had run over. She could hear bones creaking and could smell a wave of rotting flesh. Her skin crawled and fire danced around her, making the quickly approaching night less dark and empty. She summoned her chakram, Andrea summoned Frost, and Tom held an axe that was made from the sand below him.

"Are we ready?" Jasmine asked the other two. They nodded and she grinned slightly, and sent a fireball over the dune. There was a flash of red, and hellish shrieks rang out across the desert. She had hit her mark, but the creaking bones were still heard, and the burning flesh intensified the stench of the rotting flesh.

Andrea looked at Tom nervously and cried out as the first monster advanced over the dune. She shot an icicle at it and impaled it. The undead creature did nothing in response, and just continued to advance.

Jasmine smacked her forehead "Andrea, seriously. If you are going to use ice attacks, use them right. Encase those bastards in ice and shatter them dammit!"

Andrea was shivering from the shock of being faced by half a dozen undead monsters to really listen to what Jasmine had said (really, wouldn't you too?) and just continued to fire ice missiles into the crowd. Jasmine slapped her, shook her and repeated what she said. Andrea nodded and encased the zombies in ice. Tom looked at the frozen monsters with glee and watched as sand snaked up around their frozen bodies; soon they were buried under a mountain of sand.

He closed his fist and grimaced slightly at the crunch of the bones and flesh, as well as sand grinding together. The sand flowed away, and there was nothing there except mutilated bodies, which Tom quickly covered with more sand.

"What the bloody buggering hell were those?" Jasmine asked no one in particular.

"No clue, but we should set up a watch, just in case Kevin and Ashlee are going to be gone overnight." Tom said with a sigh.

"Yep, it makes sense. Who will be taking the first shift?"

"I guess I will." Andrea said, "I am not very tired. You two get some rest and I will watch."

* * *

Damnit. I need to destroy Raynx. How can I do that? We are evenly matched.

"Yo, do you have any ideas?" The Nobody yelled over his shoulder at the other Nobody that was sitting in a chair, arms and legs were sprawled out.

They were in a room that was the base of operations for Ryan and Shaun before they lost their hearts. The room had a desk that had various chemicals on it, and a couch that was occupied by the other Nobody. There was a ladder that lead up to the second floor, which was where they slept, and hid the treasures Ryan and Shaun had stolen before losing their hearts.

"I am too exhausted to throw around suggestions for taking down a stinking Heartless. Who cares? It's not like the damn thing is going to come here and kill us. He doesn't even know where we live. Heck, even the HBRC doesn't know that we exist, and we are living under their noses!" The other said with a yawn.

"You are a lazy bastard."

"Yeah, whatever."

There was a loud banging on the front door, and the other Nobody ran to a window to see who it was. A grin creased over his hidden mouth.

"Well, speak of the devil." He murmered.

He looked over at the Nobody that was griping about Raynx, and he was wearing the Organization XIII robe just as he was. This could be fun if things were done right.

He got the special handgun he made from the desk. The handgun had a silvery lustre to it and didn't have a revolver or chamber. It had no ammunition in it, but he didn't need to worry about that, he could make the bullets with simply a thought. He had the ability of making nearly anything he desired, all he needed to do it was the right material. In a way, it was alchemy.

He placed the gun in the robe pocket, and approached the door, and ripped it open. There, standing before him was Leon.

He smiled "Well, if it isn't Leon. Mind telling me what you're doing here?"

Leon stared at him; the hand that held his Gunblade tensed and untensed and he said "Well, I have been getting some noise complaints recently. Something about glass breaking and yelling. I never really thought that the people in the Organization were such sloppy people."

The Nobody chuckled slightly.

"Well, I am not with the Organization. Never was, never will. As for you Leon, I am somewhat hurt. How could you have forgotten me already?"

He removed his hood and Leon jumped back. He was staring up at the younger of the two assassin brothers. Shaun.

"Hey Shaun, are you done with the door yet? I need someone to plot with me!" The Nobody that was in the back of the house yelled.

Leon smiled and said, "Well, I would guess that is Ryan. Not too surprising really. I never thought your hearts would be strong enough for you to become Nobodys with human forms, but still, I am not totally surprised."

"Would you be surprised if I told you that our Heartless also retained their human forms?"

"Why yes I would, that would surprise me a lot."

"Well then, I guess our Heartless don't have human forms. I don't want to make you suffer twice in the same day, Leon."

With that, Shaun lunged at Leon and slugged him across the face. Leon fell onto the ground, but was able to quickly get himself upright, and aimed a slash for Shaun. He sidestepped and pulled the handgun out of his pocket, jumped away from the Gunblade again and aimed at Leon. There was a loud bang and Leon fell to the ground with a scream of pain.

* * *

Author's Note:

Well, there it is, Chapter 14. This was a hellishly long chapter for me to do. I was getting writer's block a whole bunch of times. When I first decided to re-include Rould, my thought was: "Holy crap! This bugger just can't die!" He has further uses for me however, so he shall be spared for a while. As for Kevin and Ashlee and their fight with Krain, who the hell is the person that saved Ashlee? How are there zombies roaming around, and especially how can you people not be reviewing?!

* * *

Ryan (Nobody): The Nobody of Ryan. Nothing much is known about his abilities or fighting abilities, except that he can fight on equal ground with Raynx.

Shaun (Nobody): The Nobody of Ryan. Shaun, unlike Xunahs, doesn't care much for making poisonous weapons for assassination. Instead, he uses alchemy to create various things for the heck of it. He uses a handgun that he made for himself by using alchemy, and the bullets are also supplied by using alchemy.

Krain: An Invisible Heartless. Krain is like any other Invisible when it comes to strength. However, the thing that sets him apart from the others of his kind is that he is able to speak English.

Anil: The Assassin Nobody Leader. She is like a big sister of sorts for Jan. She will often hit Jan when she starts acting odd and is all in all, a mellow person.

Jan: The Dancer Nobody Leader: She sees Anil as an older sister for her. She is the most… Eccentric of the Nobody Leaders, and will often be struck by Anil when she starts acting weird. She appears to be madly in love with Raynx. I have no idea why.


	15. Romance is Odd

Author's Note:

Author's Note: Yeah, last chapter was definitely a doozy, wasn't it? Sorry so farking much for not completing this chapter for a long time. I hit the hugest wall of writer's block I have ever faced. That, of course didn't keep me from working. Instead of moping, I wrote down the demise of each Heartless, known and unknown.

Firestorm Studios: Why thanks! As for Mr.Squall, I don't know, we shall find out, won't we? And in all seriousness, I am still waiting for the next GLORIOUS instalment of your fic, so chop chop with it already!

SkyLandOcean: I don't doubt that it hurt :P

* * *

Chapter Fifteen:

"Two Keyblades? How the hell is that possible?" Kevin said under his breath.

Krain roared and swung his sword at the dual wielding Keyblade Wielder, who blocked the attack by crossing the weapons. He pushed the sword away with the white Keyblade, and stabbed with the black, digging deep into Krain's arm.

Krain shrieked in pain and spun himself around, using his tail to hit the Nobody. The Nobody ducked and grabbed the tail with his right hand, did a small spin and flung the Heartless at the door, causing an explosion of splinters on the other side that Namine and various denizens of Traverse Town could see.

The door started to bulge slightly under the force of the collision, so the Nobody decided that it was time to stop fooling around. He removed his hood, revealing dirty blond hair that stood straight up and looked like it would have taken hours to gel. Kevin couldn't see the person's face, but for some reason, even by seeing the back of this Nobody's head, he could have sworn that he saw the Nobody somewhere before.

He jumped at Krain, both Keyblades spinning in his hands. He did a forward roll in mid air, both weapons slicing down the length of Krain, who was still stunned from hitting the door. He let out one final shriek of pain and disappeared in a puff of darkness. The heart floated into the sky and everything was quiet.

"Holy crap! That was amazing! Who are you?" Kevin asked, running to the Nobody.

He turned around to face Kevin and grinned.

"I can't believe you don't know who I am! After all, they told you about me, didn't they? My name is Roxas, I am Sora's Nobody and an ex-member of Organization XIII."

Ashlee groaned and sat up, and Kevin looked at Roxas with the surprise being plain on his face.

"Wait a second. You mean Sora, the same kid from Destiny Islands that told Andrea and I that story? The same Sora that said he was the Keybearer? The same Sora that destroyed countless Heartless?"

Roxas' grin spread even wider. "Yep, the very same. Listen, Kevin. Could you please not tell Namine about me yet? There is something I want to take care of before I see her again."

Kevin nodded, and Ashlee looked at Roxas too.

"Thanks for saving our skin Roxas." Kevin said with a smile.

"Yeah, no problem. Now then, I have to get going. Remember Kevin, don't tell Namine."

He opened a portal and left through it, just as Namine entered the Third District to see what the aftermath of the battle was. She looked around to see only Kevin and Ashlee being battered and bruised, and the door behind her was nearly destroyed. She did however see a glimpse of a black Organization robe entering a portal.

_Was that, Roxas?_

* * *

"Hey Yuffie, you hear me?" The girl asked into her headpiece. "Leon is down, can you get him to Aerith? I will stay behind and take care of this joker."

"Sure thing Tahl, just be careful. Leon got his ass handed to him."

"Yeah, sure, but he also got his ass handed to him by Kevin and Andrea, should I be afraid of them too?"

"Nope, Kevin and Andrea are Keybearers, Shaun is a homicidal maniac with a gun. There is a difference y'know."

"Yeah, but it is a pretty damn small one if you ask me."

The conversation broke as Yuffie jumped down the building, throwing shuriken to distract Shaun. She picked up Leon's unconscious body with ease and jumped over the rooftops back to Merlin's house. Shaun was beginning to give chase, but was stopped dead when Tahlia jumped down from a higher rooftop and landed in front of Shaun she smiled sweetly and smacked him.

"Sorry buddy, I am going to be taking you on today. I think it would be a bit more fair if you took on someone that didn't have her hands full." She said, grinning.

Shaun returned her grin. "Nah, it would be more fair for the 'her' if she was a 'he'."

Tahlia looked like she had just been slapped. Sexism is never fun. Her just-slapped expression became an expression of annoyance and she punched his nose, there was a small, sharp crack and blood poured from his nose. He grinned and rubbed his sleeved arm under the nose, in an attempt to sop up the blood.

"Good one, but I think we should start with formalities before we begin. My name is Shaun, wanna go out?"

Tahlia's face glowed with crimson rage. "You freaking pig!"

She punched him in the gut, and kicked his chin.

_Dear God, am I Yuffie's apprentice, or am I Tifa's?_ She wondered as she continued with her assault.

Shaun groaned slightly and jumped back, his body was battered and bruised. He applied a Hi-Potion to his wounds and readied his pistol. He grinned again.

"I will take that as a 'no' then."

Tahlia drew several kunai from her 'waist pouch'. (A/N: Due to complaints from a friend of mine, fanny packs will be referred to as 'waist pouches'. Yes RD, I am looking at you.) She held them at the ready, waiting for Shaun to make his first move.

He did, and shot several bullets at Tahlia. She ducked, rolled and weaved away from the shots, being missed entirely. When Shaun was reloading the gun, she threw the kunai. He deflected them with further shots. She tugged on the wires attached to her fingers, and the kunai flew back to her, landing softly in her hands.

She evaded the next round of shots, and closed in on Shaun, and punched him with the kunai wedged in-between her fingers. Gashes appeared on his face and he shouted in pain. He tried to hit her with the gun, but missed and she ducked, delivering a sweep kick, and he landed on his back. She was about to throw the kunai at his head, with her foot pinning him to the ground when she felt a hand harshly come down on the back of her neck. Her eyes clouded over, and she fell on top of Shaun.

"Shaun, you are an idiot." Ryan mumbled in a bored tone.

Shaun grunted as he heaved Tahlia off of him.

"What do we do with her?" Shaun asked his brother

Ryan shrugged "Dump her, the less people we have trying to get a rid of us, the better."

Shaun smiled and took her through a portal. He entered a pitch-black sandy-shored beach. Everything around him thrummed with darkness, and with a grin, he placed Tahlia's unconscious body on the ground and left through the portal again as the first Shadow came up to examine her.

* * *

Yuffie was searching the area around Ryan's and Shaun's now empty house five hours after Tahlia's disappearance. She groaned in frustration and threw several shuriken at one of the walls. They had done a clean sweep earlier of the house Ryan and Shaun were in. There was nothing there except two beds, a couch, a television set and a desk.

Yuffie went to retrieve the shuriken, and went back to Merlin's house to check up on Leon and switch with Tifa.

"Any luck?" Tifa asked in a worried voice.

Yuffie masked her worry and said "No." Even though she didn't want to admit it. Yuffie always saw Tahlia as somewhat of a younger sister.

Yuffie sat down next to Leon and was happy to see that he wasn't sweating bullets as he was before, and his breathing was more even. She felt his forehead, it was still warm, but it was bearable to touch. She stood up and wished Tifa luck as she went to search for Tahlia. She sat at the small table in the middle of the house and cried softly Aerith and Merlin comforted her and offered her some tissues.

* * *

"Eee! Raynx! Come out! I know you're here somewhere!" Jan shrieked gleefully, looking around each corner in the darkened lab, hoping to find her beloved Raynx.

He peered around a giant steel crate he was crouched behind, and glared at Jan. If this were a cartoon, there would be pink little hearts floating above her head.

"Nothing can keep our love apart!" She squealed once again in delight, as she levitated above the ground.

Raynx sighed, stood up, and drew Dreggan. He darted through the shadows, and appeared behind Jan, and raised Dreggan to strike.

She disappeared from sight, and tackled him to the ground from behind. He turned over to face her, and almost screamed as he saw the parted lips go down to his own lips. He thrashed violently, but couldn't break free.

He needed her off, but what the hell would he say to get her off? A light clicked on in his mind, and he grinned, baring his pointed teeth, and accepted her kiss.

She pulled away in surprise and said "Oh honey! You do care!" She seemed to be in a daze. That dazed look was replaced by a just-slapped look as she watched Raynx wipe at his tongue viciously.

"Dear God Jan! What the hell are you eating? Your breath smells like the rear end of a cow!"

Jan's heart (if she had one) broke.

Her depressed expression was replaced by fury and her hands shimmered as they faded from existence, only to return and have blades connected to the back of her hands that stretched all the way up to her elbow.

She glared at Raynx, and he quailed. He was now scared. Completely and utterly terrified.

He regained his composure and stood up, Dreggan at the ready. This was what he wanted all along, right? A fight with a really powerful enemy. Right?

He was barely able to block the elbow strike Jan delivered. A loud crack was heard as the box behind Raynx formed several cracks. Yeah, she was pissed.

He continued to dodge her attacks, being unable to do anything but dodge. He went up against a wall, and collapsed himself into it; he was able to move away just before it was completely and utterly destroyed. He appeared behind Jan and created illusionary copies of himself. They ran at her, taunting and slashing at her. She cried out in pain as Dreggan connected with each hit, but no wounds appeared.

She dropped to the ground and sighed, the blades vanished from her arms. She looked up at the real Raynx with sad eyes and vanished.

"Took you long enough Raynx!" Rould cried joyously, slapping Raynx on the shoulder. He could smell a trace of rum on the old man's breath.

"Yeah." He said, standing up. "We should return to the top and wait for everyone else."

Rould looked at him questioningly, but still followed him through the portal Raynx opened.

* * *

Tom jumped from his perch as he saw a portal open in the desert, and watched from behind a dune as a figure wearing a black cloak stepped out of it, the hood was drawn, so Tom couldn't see who it was. Another person stepped up behind the first and put a hand on his shoulder. He could tell the second was a girl, but who were they?

He got low to the ground, cupped his hands over his mouth and yelled "HEARTLESS!"

Jasmine and Andrea, who were asleep, jumped out of their makeshift beads and held their respective weapons at the ready, and the two figures were at the ready too. One had two whips in her hand, and the male had Vortex. Okay, so it was Kevin and Ashlee. They were back.

Tom sheepishly rose to his feet and chuckled softly, sweating profusely.

"Sorry guys, false alarm."

Jasmine growled, her chakram engulfed in flame. She stomped up to Tom, her footsteps making small craters in the sand. When she was in range, she delivered a swift kick to his head.

"You annoying bastard! You better pray that the next time you wake us up for an emergency that it is a **real** emergency or you will be lacking an arm!"

Tom rubbed his bruised head with his right hand and looked up at Jasmine. His expression showed that he believed her tenfold. She spun around and dashed at Kevin, grabbing him by the collar and shook him roughly.

"And what the bloody buggering hell took you two so long? It wasn't even noon when you left! It has been two days since you left! Two boring days!"

Kevin sat down with his head spinning. He looked up at Ashlee and a grin spread across his face, it made Jasmine and Andrea step back a couple of inches.

"Nothing much, Ashlee broke her arm, I had a bad cut. So, Rose did a lot of healing spells on Ashlee, and sped up the recovery process a lot, and she just used cure on me to seal the wound. So, two days later, Ashlee is fully recovered, and I am standing here giving you a crappy ass story on how our weekend went." He said curtly. "So, what is your status report?"

Jasmine was smiling, a feral smile, and Andrea looked up at her pleadingly, shaking her head back and forth vigorously.

"Well, I was practicing fighting stances when I heard this odd squelchy noise. I turned around to see Andrea and Tom snogging!" When she said 'snogging', she threw her arms out and pretended to half-hug Andrea.

Kevin and Ashlee sat with their mouths agape and Tom groaned. Jasmine looked down and Kevin and Ashlee with a sneer and saw that the two were holding hands.

* * *

Author's Note: Short chapter, I know. I was fresh out of ideas yet again, the romance thing was an off the top of my head thing. Don't worry, there will be no explicit scenes coming up, if you want those, please refer to some fanfic that involves sex and kinky stuff. Have I ever mentioned how much Rould infuriates me? Coming back from the dead like that… The nerve!


	16. The Oasis

Author's Note: Hopefully, this chapter will be better

SkyLandOcean: Thanks! I can usually hold onto my flow (of writing, not some other creepy thing) for a while. I was getting worried that I was going to screw it up. And I accidentally inserted a nude scene. It is not an accident! It is just for humor!!11!

Firestorm Studios: Thanks! Anyways, yeah. My fight scenes are my favourite things to do.

* * *

Chapter 16: The Oasis

Somaxth laughed gleefully as he parried several plasma bolts fired by the Warp Snipers. He spun around, his giant stone axe cleaving through every single Nobody within range. He shoved his palm into the ground and stalagmites exploded out of the ground, impaling many Nobodys and making them vanish from existence. He collapsed his axe so that it was only a pile of jagged stones and he fired them into the crowd of Nobodys, destroying them instantly.

He wiped his brow with a sigh and watched Xochitl jump from the objects that floated in the space away from the bridge they were standing on, doing her best to keep her distance from the Sorcerers, firing icicle spears at them, and occasionally encasing them in ice. A Sorcerer appeared behind her and tried to shred her up with the cubes. She spun around, jammed her staff in the cubes and spun around them, using the staff as a lever and delivered a punishing kick to the Nobodys head, afterwards she finished it by encasing it in ice and exploding said block, destroying it instantly, the shrapnel tore through several others and they retreated.

She landed, pursed her blue lips in an annoyed grin and sent out a wave of ice energy, freezing them all instantly in blocks of ice. She closed her empty hand and the ice collapsed in on the Nobodys and they all vanished. She smiled at Somaxth sweetly and jumped over to him from the brick she was standing on, which was a good ten feet away. She landed softly next to him and hugged him slightly and quickly let go. More of the Nobodys had appeared.

"Wanna switch Xochitl?" Somaxth asked nonchalantly.

"Of course, those Sorcerers were getting annoying." She replied, not even bothering to look up at him.

_Ouch._ Somaxth thought.

He ran at the Sorcerers, his arms encased in stone, with large stone blades protruding from the forearms. He jumped up and landed on a Sorcerer, crushing it with his arms, he pounded them on the ground, sending out a shockwave that stunned a large group of them. He ran into the crowd of stunned Nobodys and punched and slashed them, destroying them with each hit. There was one last Sorcerer. It seemed somewhat feminine and didn't have cubes spinning around it; instead it held a staff that was made of energy in its humanoid hands and its feet poked out of the bottom of its robe. Its face was also startling humanlike. He dismissed those thoughts and ran at the Nobody, jumped up in the air, and slammed his fists down onto its head.

He was stopped mid-drop, a slim arm was holding onto his fist. The grip tightened, and the stone armor shattered. He was thrown to the ground and the Sorcerer advanced on him, saying in a strong and commanding voice: "Enough."

Xochitl shot the shards of ice, ignoring Somaxth's battle cries. Most of the Warp Snipers were impaled, and a dozen appeared around her, each shooting a fully charged shot at her. She smirked and collapsed her ice staff, the small ice shards floated lazily around her. Just as the projectiles were released, she spun, as did the ice shards, and the projectiles were shot right back at their owners. Those plasma bullets exploded, and the shrapnel shot out, bouncing off one another, and tearing through each of the Warp Snipers. Soon there was nothing left. She made a small 'hmpf' and made the ice shards form back into the staff.

She lazily walked up the path and heard Somaxth's armor shatter. She ran towards him, but was blocked off by yet another Warp Sniper. It did a spin kick and knocked her to the ground. She looked up to see that it had almost a human face, a male's face. Other than that, he looked like a typical Warp Sniper.

"Care to dance young lady? My name is Dart, a fitting name I'd say."

* * *

"So Ryan, what are we going to do tonight?" Shaun asked, looking up at his brother.

"Same thing we do every night dorkstick; I laugh as you scream in terror after saying something stupid." Ryan replied.

Ryan turned at his brother, glaring angrily into his eyes.

"Ask me that again, and I kill you."

"Yeah, whatever. I hope that girl, Tahlia is okay." Shaun said with a sigh.

"Why, do you like her?" Ryan replied mockingly

"No, I—"

He stopped talking when he noticed the person standing in the door of their new base of operations: the mansion in Twilight Town.

"Uhm, can we help y—Eep!" He cried as a kunai was thrown at him, getting imbedded in the wall next to his head. If he tilted his head even a millimetre to the left, he would be able to feel the cool metal.

He did tilt his head, mouth agape. His right earlobe connected with the kunai and he cried out in pain as he was electrocuted.

He stood up, both guns drawn and fully loaded. He jumped over the table he was sitting at and fired three shots at the target in quick succession. The person jumped out of the way and threw four kunai, and disappeared in the shadows beside her.

Shaun swore and ducked out of the way of the kunai, fired more shots into the shadows and rolled towards the shadows. A lightning bolt streaked from the shadow and struck him square in the chest. He felt a weird tingling sensation as he was drawn in. A chain was wrapped around his waist. He realized that the person hid it in the electrical attack. He couldn't lift his arms to fire the guns, so he was pretty much defenceless.

Ryan got up with a sigh and disappeared from sight. There was a squeal from inside the shadows and a girl, wearing a yellow shirt and a blue pair of shorts, was dragged out by the hair. He dropped her on the ground and glared at her.

"Tahlia? What happened to you? Shaun left you for dead inside the dark world. Explain now!"

She sighed and looked at Shaun with a dreamy expression. "Well, I didn't die. I lost my heart; I decided to find you guys, because. Well, I don't know. All I know is that I came for you guys, and that's all she wrote."

Ryan smirked and walked back to the table. Let the brats talk it out.

"Y'know, you guys were _really_ hard to find. I had to search for a week just to find you! I then went to a weird world that had samurai guys that wore black kimono-things. They were not very nice. This one really evil looking man with an eye patch chased me nearly all over the world! He had this weird, pink fur ball thing on his back too; sometimes it would scream 'Look out, Kenny!' It even called me Blueshorts! Such a weird world!"

And she continued on for a good hour, about the weird people she met. The weird pink fur ball and evil eye patch-man was her favourite topic apparently.

* * *

"Hi Yuff! I'm back!"

Yuffie snapped her head up from her empty bucket of chocolate ice cream and opened the front door of Merlin's house. She was staring at Tahlia, except her features were much more… Dark.

"Did you miss me, Yuff? Hey, Yuff, what's wrong? You look depressed." Tahlia asked, cocking her head to one sky, one of her teeth poked out from under her lips. It was sharp, and the rest of her face was pale. Deathly pale.

Yuffie glared at the Heartless of her apprentice and kicked her square in the chest. She pulled out several shuriken and threw them at Tahlia, who jumped right out of the way. She looked down at Yuffie with a smug look and said "Buh bye!"

Yuffie was about to ask what she meant when she heard a slight hissing noise. She slammed the front door shut and jumped onto the roof of the house, and up to another roof. A fiery explosion appeared in the place she was standing moments before, and the house door was blown clean off. Yuffie glared at the spot Tahlia's Heartless was standing and noticed she was gone.

She gulped and took a step backwards, putting her back up against a brick wall. She let out a strangled cry as a pair of hands reached out from the wall and closed themselves around her throat. She kicked and flailed desperately as she was dragged up the brick wall. One of the hands let go, and the other tightened its grip. The hand that let go sank back into the wall and came back out with a dagger that was being aimed at her chest, where her heart was.

Tahlia brought her head out of the wall and placed it on Yuffie's shoulder.

"Thank me Yuffie, I decided to spare your life and decided to allow you to join me. You should be _grateful_," She said. It snapped in Yuffie's mind that Tahlia's voice was a lot more sinister and she made a hiccupping sob with that realization.

However, now wasn't the time to be week. She brought up her right hand, with a shuriken in it. She stabbed it into the arm that held the dagger, making it bleed. Tahlia's Heartless cried out in pain, and the grip on Yuffie's throat tightened. Yuffie gathered all of her strength and stabbed the shuriken into the arm that was holding her throat. The hand returned to the wall and Yuffie dropped to the ground with a thud.

Tahlia's Heartless jumped out of the wall and looked down at Yuffie with disdain, cocked her head to the right and left through a portal.

* * *

"This progress is startling. At this rate, they will have removed us. We can't take this much longer."

"How about we launch a full scale attack on them? They deserve nothing less. They wish to eliminate us. Why should we spare them?"

"How dare you suggest such a thing? Your brother was right! You are irrational beyond belief!"

"How dare you bring my brother into this conversation! I should destroy you for such insolence!"

"Both of you stop! We need to wait for orders first!"

"Orders? Who cares? We should fight!"

"Some of us aren't in the condition, and you know that! Some of us have had our hopes destroyed today, and why? Because of _them._"

* * *

Kevin scanned the desert, the heat made the wonderful illusion of them being surrounded by water. He would have killed for a swim. He looked around at the people that were sleeping and wiped at his forehead. It was amazing to him how no one had the will to go on, they all just wanted to stay there. This was a new world! They should be looking at it with him.

He sighed and wandered out of the camp. After ten minutes of walking in a straight line, he stopped dead in his tracks. Through the illusionary ocean made by the heat, he saw a palm tree, and a lot of green below it. Was it another mirage? Who cares!

That was Kevin's conclusion.

"WATER! WATER WATER! WATERWATERWATER!" He cried out joyfully as he ran through the sand, kicking up a large cloud of dust.

Within a matter of seconds, he was standing on lush grass, he kicked off the boots so he was wearing it feel it between his toes. He looked ahead and saw the water. It was no illusion at all. He picked up the boots, and ran on, the grass was surprisingly moist.

He threw off the Organization cloak, the black jeans, as well as the black boots and gloves, and jumped into the oasis in his boxers. It was very warm. Perfect for swimming. He swam five lengths of the small body of water, about as large as a large indoor swimming pool, and twice as deep. He dived under and noticed that it was somehow easier to move under the water. He dismissed the thought however, and continued to swim. He heard something that sounded like a muffled cry, and rose to the surface, yet again, faster than he normally would.

He was treading the water and saw Andrea and Tom lined up along the bank.

"Holy cow Kevin, how did you find this?" Andrea asked, looking at the water. Apparently, she didn't notice the fact that her long time friend was wearing only boxers. Why would she anyways, she only had eyes for Tom.

"Yeah, seriously Kevin! I was doing a lot of patrol crap, and I never saw this!"

"Not sure, I just randomly walked away in a straight line and wound up here. If you guys need me, I just need my clothes." Kevin replied.

Without even thinking, he raised his hand and pointed at the loose clump of clothes, and to his and everyone else's surprise, several tendrils of water snaked out of the oasis and picked up the clothes, and dropped them on the bank, a foot away from the water.

He was still treading when he looked down, and his cheeks flushed crimson. He had risen to the surface a bit _too_ quickly. Before either one of his partners could notice, he did a weird dive, doing his absolute best to make sure the lower half of his body wouldn't be exposed on the surface.

* * *

At the shore, Tom snickered. Andrea looked at him curiously and he looked at her with a wide grin.

"Didn't you see?"

"See what?"

"Kevin, he rose to the surface a bit _too_ quickly." Tom replied curtly.

Andrea still looked at him curiously and dismissed what he was telling her.

* * *

Kevin was touching the sandy bottom of the oasis, looking desperately for the boxer shorts. He felt something brush against his foot and picked it up. Yep, they were his boxers. He came to the realization that they were much more holey than when he left the islands. It was actually very weird. He slipped them on and shot up to the surface, keeping a hand clamped tightly to his waistband.

He shot up to the surface again. This time, he had gone up fast enough so that he was standing on the water for a second, before sinking back in. He looked nervously at Tom and Andrea, still clutching his blue boxers, hoping that they wouldn't magically slip off.

"Uh, guys. Do you mind turning around? These things have a striking resemblance to swiss cheese. Thanks" Kevin said, cheeks still aglow.

Tom sniggered again as they heard Kevin step onto land, the water splashed away from him. Andrea still remained oblivious, yet her back was turned.

Tom and Andrea kept their backs turned for the better part of a half hour. After a while, Ashlee and Jasmine found them and walked over to them.

"Tom, where is Kevin?" Jasmine asked Tom, a bit of anger could be traced in her words.

Tom gulped and returned her steady gaze.

"Kevin was swimming a while ago, in his boxers. Long story short, his ascent to the surface was _too fast._"

Andrea gasped and giggled.

"OH! That's what you meant!"

Tom sighed and sla

* * *

pped his head, turned around, and saw that Kevin was gone. His clothes were gone too, minus his cloak.

"Let me go dammit! Sand is getting into my boxers!" Kevin roared as he was being dragged through the hot desert sand by a large green ogre-like creature. A rough leather rope bound all his hands, legs and feet.

He already tried to use thunder magic on the thing, but the spell had no effect. All it did was punch him in the chest. It felt like a rib had cracked, but he could yell and breathe with ease, so he could be okay.

I come here four days ago to deal with my broken arm. I go for a swim, lose my boxers, meaning Tom and Andrea saw my doodle. I get the shorts, and as I am getting changed, a freaking monster jumps me! Isn't life great? Oh yeah, and I lack a shirt. If these things eat me, at least they don't have to worry about unzipping the damned cloak. He thought bitterly.

"Human, you are brave. No one dares attack Urgals when alone. Human are cowardly. I take you to master Durza now. He punish you for disobeying Ushnark the Mighty's law. Only days walk. But for you, drag."

The urgal said, with a harsh laugh that sounded almost like a growl.

"What kind of law did I break?" Kevin asked, still angry.

"For use magic without Ushnark the Mighty allowing you to. You supposed to be slave, but now you just become prisoner."

It laughed again and walked on, dragging a fuming Kevin behind it.

* * *

"You are a pathetic specimen." The leader said, as she threw Somaxth away, making him hit a wall.

Somaxth firmly planted his feet against the floating block she threw him at, and jumped, pushing it behind him. He landed in front of her and smiled.

"Well, it is nice to know that you Nobody Leaders aren't over exaggerated in strength. It would be a bummer if you guys were."

The Sorcerer bowed.

"Thank you. But, I believe that you may be mistaken. I am the leader of all the Nobodys. In the absence of Xemnas of course. That aside, I am the most powerful of the Nobody Leaders, besides Vice. So I usually play second fiddle. I am Gabrielle by the way, it is a pleasure to meet you Somaxth."

"How do you know my name?" Somaxth asked.

"I have spies throughout the castle. That is why Venxik wants to eradicate us. Or simply that he wishes to conquer the worlds. I have also gleamed on the fact that you have some of your own working against you. There are more Heartless than one that wish to destroy Venxik for their own personal goals. I have tried to make peace with Venxik, but he only wants Nobodys and humans to be eradicated. So, he waged war on us in the castle. I can understand that you wish to fight me. If that is the case, I won't hold back against you."

With that, her staff grew in size, and a blade sprouted off of the top of it.

"Prepare yourself." They said to each other in unison.

"Hi Dart, get out of my way. I know you are a Leader, but I just don't care." Xochitl said in an annoyed tone.

Dart looked at her with a hurt face and only one word crossed his mind: Ouch.

* * *

Author's Note: And so, this chapter ends. With both Kevin AND Dart AND Yuffie getting owned! Poor me, I should learn how to slow down my swimming in the water. Or use of aquatic magic. What is happening with those water tendrils anyways? Oh yeah, neither Tom or Andrea saw Kevin's 'doodle'. Tom was just able to quickly realize why Kevin was blushing.

Gabrielle: A Nobody Leader, as well as the leader of all Nobodys, in the absence of Xemnas, of course. She is physically stronger and more mentally adept than any other Nobody and two members of the old Organization. She tried to make Venxik leave the Nobodys alone, but she failed. On top of that, she knows a great deal about the Heartless that live in the castle she rightfully owns.

Dart: A Nobody Leader. He is the leader of the Warp Snipers. Like most Warp Snipers, he uses a mix of physical and distance combat. His abilities are not well known at this point. But he seems to have a thing for Xochitl.

Tahlia (Nobody): The Nobody of Tahlia. She searched long and hard for Ryan and Shaun so she could join them. She uses thunder magic and uses kunai as her main weapons. Other than that, she has no resemblance to Larxene. (Not related)

Tahlia (Heartless): The Heartless of Tahlia. She is much more physical strong than her Nobody. She prefers to be stealthy and often tries to kill her enemies by using her powers to hide in walls.

Ushnark the Mighty: The evil king of the world Kevin and co. are in.


	17. The Misadventures of Tahlia

* * *

Author's Note: My amazing short chapter of doom! Bascily every story from the last chapter is expanded on. But of course is still worth reading!

SkyLandOcean: Poor Kevin indeed, I have dubbed him "Damsel in Distress"

Firestorm Studios: Ugral capture. Dear God, lets pray that he does get out. Or there could be problems DUNDUNDUN! (Especially if he drops the soap after a possibly failed rescue)

* * *

Chapter 17: Misadventures of Tahlia!

So, shortly after I lost my heart, I wound up in this world where everyone was wearing these really pretty kimonos. I asked for directions, and I was told to go to the wall and see if I could get help from the people known as the Soul Reapers. I went up to the wall and knocked on it as hard as I could.

This really big guy with two _giant_ axes jumped down from nowhere. His landing made a huge shockwave, sending my back a bazillion feet!

He said: "I hope you are ready girl, in order to pass, you must defeat me! Also, you can't run away. AHAHAHA!" (He was a weirdo)

I said: "But I dun wana battle! I just want to fight!" "

"Uhm, Tahl… If you didn't want to fight, why did you say you just want to fight?" Shaun asked, cocking his head to the left.

"SHUTUP! MY STORY!

Anyways, he was no match for my ninja-awesomeness, and I was able to dodge his axes. I was able to paralyse him with a kunai, and he let me pass because he didn't want to hurt a lady, he was a stupid liar.

He let me through, and bunches of annoying jerky black-kimonoguys were attacking me with really kickass swords. Some of the swords could transform! After I defeated twenty of them (and castrated two), I felt this really, really odd pressure being put on me. Like I was being crushed. I saw this really creepy guy with an eye patch. He also had musical hair. There was a pink fur ball on his back that called him Kenny.

He chases me, and runs like a freaking ninja! But way more awesomer."

Ryan sighed, trying to block out the chatter.

"After a while, the fur ball cried out "You are fast Blueshorts! But Kenny is faster!"

I run screaming through a portal that came from nowhere and I wound up in a nice, pretty, lush forest. I saw these two guys with really pretty black robes that had really pretty red clouds with a white lining on them. They were jumping from branch to branch. One guy had awesome blue skin and blue hair. The other had a really awesome black ponytail. I chased after them, and the ponytail dude threw kunai at me. Instantly, I realized something. Something so dire and amazing that it could change human life!

I was in love.

I chased them, screaming "Our love will never be torn apart!" and I threw an electrically charged kunai at him. He and his partner disappeared, and I felt sad. Very, very sad.

So, I fell asleep.

I awoke a while later. I had no idea what time it was. I was wearing this really cool robe, just like Hotty Mc.Ponytail was wearing, and I was inside a cave of some sort. Some guy that was wearing the exact same robe, but the exposed parts of his body (hair and face) were gray. He knelt before me and said,

"Welcome. Itachi sensed the darkness that resided within your heart and we did a few tests. We came to the conclusion that was far greater than I could have ever imagined. You have shunned your human heart. We welcome you to the Akatsuki in the place of Orochimaru."

I sat up in a bit of a daze.

"Wait, I don't have a heart? Well, that explains a lot. Thank you for allowing me to join the Akatsuki. Tell me, what is it you do?"

"Well. I suppose as a member, you should be informed. We wish to harness the powers of the tailed demons. By using their powers, we wish to take over the world."

"Take over this world? That is a small goal."

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean is that there are many more worlds that would all be worth dominating."

"More worlds?"

The man pondered this and left. Leaving me to sit there. I stood up and walked around. There was nothing of particular interest. I gave up and left through a portal that I learned I could make on my own.

When I exited, I fell down this hole and I was knocked unconscious for six days. When I got up, I came here and found you guys!"

(A/N: I am a lazy bastard. Doing those two pages of random nearly killed me!)

* * *

"Well Xochi, I just can't do that. You see, my superior, Gabrielle said that no Heartless are allowed to get by me. So if you really want to fight Gabrielle, you have to kill me."

Xochitl looked at Dart evenly.

"Really, is that all?"

Dart growled and disappeared, reappearing behind Xochitl to deliver a kick.

She ducked and stabbed her staff up at his foot. He blocked it with his gun, and she grinned. She moulded the staff with her magic to make it wrap around the gun and threw it through a portal that she made.

"Now with that a few hundred worlds out of our way, things will be even more in my favour."

She jumped back and let loose a barrage of ice shards. She dashed forward, moving with the deadly shards of ice. Dart was hit by the shards of ice, and Xochitl jumped up through the mist it made, brining her staff down on his head with a sharp _crack_.

He stumbled back with a surprised cry. Dropped to one knee and looked at her with a smirk.

"Well Xochi, good job. I guess you are allowed to pass. You may have defeated me, but how do you think Somaxth will do against our leader?"

"What do you mean _your_ leader? You are the leader of the Warp Snipers!"

"Well you goof, don't you think that the Noblemen and Noblewomen of a kingdom need a King and Queen to watch us? We do, and our Queen is fighting one of Venxik's pawns." He replied curtly before vanishing.

Damn it! The little ass went to take on the leader of the Nobodys. You can always count on him to be an asshole. She thought

She ran to him, being as quick as she could. A barrier halted her and she stood there, watching as Somaxth dodged and parried Gabrielle's attacks. He was solely on the defensive. For the first time ever, he was losing. It made Xochitl shiver slightly. Even though Somaxth was incompetent in her eyes, he _never_ went on the defensive.

"Wow Gabrielle, you are good! Did I mention that you are worthy of your queenly status yet?"

"Yes, I believe so. We should continue, seeing as how we have a spectator. I hope you can put on a good show for her!"

She jabbed the butt of her staff repeatedly at Somaxth's gut. He showed no sign of being injured and he dived into the ground, appearing behind her to bring down a stone axe upon her head. She turned around, barely able to block the attack. He flipped backwards and stomped his foot into the ground, sending up a large pillar of stone that shot Gabrielle up into the air. He leaped into the air, and was soon level with Gabrielle.

He did a roll and brought the axe down on Gabrielle's back, sending her down to the ground. She landed and did a flip to get herself steady.

"Well Somaxth, I was worried for a moment. I was concerned that you may have been weaker than we originally thought. So, I guess we should continue"

"Yes we should."

He hurled a large boulder at Gabrielle. As it came close, she collapsed her staff and a giant wall of blocks; the same ones the Sorcerer used surrounded her. They rotated at a high speed, making the boulder nothing more than dust. She fused them back into her staff, which she spun, causing the dust to be blown away. She ran at Somaxth and stabbed again with her staff. He made the dust form around his hand to make another stone gauntlet. He grabbed her staff and threw it away and pinned her to the ground with his free hand.

She smiled.

"Fine, I am content with your victory. See ya"

She vanished into the ground and the barrier collapsed.

"Hey Xochitl, it didn't take you so long to defeat Dart. So, I guess we should go up to the Altar of Naught and wait."

"Yeah, let's go."

* * *

Axdrane and Xunahs stood back to back to each other. They were both cutting through the Nobodys with ease. Xunahs smiled as a Gambler rolled a di at him. He swung his sword mightily, making the two weapons collide, and sending the massive di at its sender, destroying both instantly.

Axdrane looked at a Dragoon, with a dark smile and began to concentrate.

"You, Dragoon, I bet you feel like killing your comrades, don't you?"

She gave a hard shove and felt a slight twinge of pain in her forehead. The Dragoon made this really odd gesture, and mellowed out. It launched itself into the air, and pulverized several other Dragoons with its attacks before it was torn apart.

She extended the blades on her gauntlets and dashed into the crowd, and began spinning around, slicing many of the Nobodys in half. She finished off by sending out two large balls of darkness that made an explosion that destroyed a dozen more. When her explosion subsided, the Nobodys, both Dragoon and Gambler were destroyed. Only a few remained, but were easily taken care of by the Neoshadows that appeared out of the ground at the sight of their territory being regained.

* * *

Kevin was looking up at the desert sky (which was now darkening) from his uncomfortable position on the sand. The ugral made a camp for the upcoming night and explained that someone was coming to make the rest of the trip. Kevin didn't pay much attention to the words and just looked up at the slowly appearing stars.

_My world may have been any one of those stars, and now it's gone. Maybe if there is a really dark spot in the sky, it could be the remains of my world._

He tried focusing in on the evening sky and saw not one, but hundreds of black spots in the sky. It was like something was destroying a lot of worlds. Was it the Heartless? Kevin had the odd feeling that it wasn't _the _Heartless, it was _a _Heartless: Venxik.

As he focused on the night sky, he noticed a portal open up a few feet above his bare chest. The ugrals back was turned to him as well. A single object fell from the portal and landed on Kevin's chest with a light _thud._

"HOLY CRAP! IT'S FREEZING!" He cried out into the night sky.

The ugral jumped up and whirled around to face him, its ugly face set in a snarl, and its club held ready to strike. It looked down and saw the weird gun.

"This is yours?" It asked, cocking its head to the left, after picking up the weapon.

"Uh, n—"

_Wait Kevin, don't! Think about it. If you ever want to be a hitman, don't you think you need a stealthier weapon than an awkward sword or really loud thunder attacks? He thought to himself. For some reason, he went along with it, even though he had no interest in being a hitman._

"Yeah, it's mine. Can I have it?"

The ugral laughed and stowed the weapon in a burlap sack.

"No, I give to new transport in morning." It said, and sat down to finish its meal of some sort of stew. Kevin wasn't sure if he wanted to know what that ingredient was.

Kevin continued to look up into the night sky and fell asleep as a bright object passed through space. The ugral watched him and grunted with annoyance, waiting for the new transport to arrive.

* * *

"Okay, so we lost Kevin. He was kidnapped and he is half naked. What do we do?" Jasmine asked Tom, Andrea and Ashlee.

"He has been gone for a day, so a split up and search idea would be stupid. Also, lets not forget the incident we had with Tom." Ashlee said with a bit of a glare at Tom.

"How the hell was I supposed to know that cactus juice would make me act like a drunkard?" He cried.

"You weren't. But by Jesus, I wish I had my camera phone to take a video of that. The fact that you thought you were at a football game was hilarious. It however, lost its hilarity when you streaked across the 'field'." Andrea said with a curt nod.

"Wait, you saw that?" He asked shrilly.

"Yeah, we did. When you start screaming out your own commentary. It is pretty damn hard to miss. I am still trying to hold down my lunch after seeing that." Jasmine said with a low growl.

Andrea grinned.

"Flapping butt cheeks." Her deed was done.

Tom groaned and slapped his forehead. He was going to bury his head in the sand. But that wouldn't help him much. Andrea sat, cackling madly as Jasmine vomited, and Ashlee looked up at the starry night sky.

_One of those black spaces was once my home._

* * *

Author's Note: This chapter was short, which is because Tahlia's scene was intended to be way longer. Oddly enough, I can't pull off stupid-random for that long. So, many things have happened. And soon, a very big event will be taking place that will rock your socks. (sorry). Once again, I loathed writing Tahlia's scene after two pages. Sorry for those of you that wanted to know about her misadventures. For some odd reason, some things may have been cut out. If something seems to be missing, please let me know so I can remedy it.

Itachi: AKA Hotty Mc.Ponytail. He is an S Class ninja and a member of the criminal Organisation known as the Akatsuki. He has no relation to the fanfic besides being mentioned.

Orochimaru: One of the three legendary Saanin and the most dangerous of the three. He tends to do deadly human experiments so he can create the ultimate jutsu. Once again, no relation to this fanfic.

Freaky Eyepatch Man: AKA Kenny, Kenpachi Zaraki. He is, in my mind, the greatest Soul Reaper in the Bleach world. Just because he is made out of awesome win. No relation to fanfic.

Pink Furball: AKA Yachiru. She is the lieutenant serving under Kenny, and is a very hyperactive young girl (probably being ten at the absolute oldest in human years). She has no relation to this fanfic.


	18. To Sum it Up

Author's Note: Whaho! Chapter 17 is done. It still had hilarity (sorry Tom) and frozen nipples (sorry Kevin) as well as barfing flamethrowers (sorry Jasmine).

SkyLandOcean: You don't even know the half of it

Firestorm Studios: Kekeke. Yeah, they did kick ungodly ass. Let's see how Axdrane and Xunahs do!

* * *

Chapter Eighteen: To Sum It Up

"Well Xunahs, that was lame." Axdrane said, not bothering to look at her partner.

"That it was."

Axdrane and Xunahs looked up to see Venxik come down towards them. He seemed amused.

"Xunahs, I saw that, the way you handled the Nobodys. It wasn't passable. That's for sure. So, I am going to send you to meet someone on another world. He can train you and help you become stronger. Much, much stronger. So, pick up that sword and walk through this portal. After a few months, when you have dominated his world, return to us. Or not at all."

Xunahs looked sullen, and Axdrane, like she was slapped across the face. Xunahs did a half-assed shamble through the portal Venxik made and let it close behind him. Axdrane looked at her leader awestruck.

"You can't just do that! Venxik! What the hell are you thinking? That is so freaking cruel!" She cried.

Venxik looked at her in the eyes, stony faced.

"I am a Heartless, Axdrane. I don't care about Xunahs at all. I only need him stronger so my plans may be filled out. It does not matter to me how he feels about being kicked out."

He turned around and Axdrane was about to open a portal to go after Xunahs.

Without looking back, Venxik said, "If you go after him, I will destroy you."

Axdrane looked terrified. You could tell, just by looking at her eyes that she believed what Venxik said.

* * *

"I feel pretty bad for the young girl. I think we should leave her alone. She is in no shape to fight."

"Go ahead and run if you want. Than, you can report to Gabrielle with your tail tucked in between your legs. Do you really want to do that Kray?"

"You know full well that Gabrielle would sympathise with my decision. Even though I lack a heart, I remember empathy. A psycho like you wouldn't get such an emotion. When you were a human, you were just as cruel. I know that, because I was the one that issued the attack on you that made you become one of us. Regardless, I will take your advice and leave, see you later Dawn."

Before Dawn could make a retort, Kray left to report to Gabrielle. The Dragoon stood upright with a sigh and leaped off of the building; lance prepared to strike.

* * *

Axdrane stepped off to the side and Dawn connected with the ground. Making gravel and pavement fly everywhere.

"How does it feel, young lady. To know that your childhood friend has ripped your love from your arms? Makes you feel small, and pitiful, right?"

Axdrane sullenly shook her head. Dawn continued.

"Just give up, maybe I will spare you. Heck, maybe I can get that cute Heartless back for you. Or, you never know, I might take him for myself."

Axdrane's head snapped up. Eyes ablaze. She took a step forward.

"Oh you little bitch."

She leaped at Dawn, aiming a punch for her head. Dawn brought up the lance to block the attack, but the weapon merely shattered like thin glass and the fist connected with her head. The death was instant.

She watched Dawn fade away and left without saying a word.

* * *

Leashex spun around, letting Chaos cleave a Dusk in two. She threw out Anarchy and it flew through a pack of Dusks and Creepers like an arrow, impaling several. It made a large explosion, taking out another thirty out of the thousand Nobodys she was fighting. Anarchy returned to her hand and she leaped up into the air, and began firing several dark bolts into the crowd of Nobodys, each bolt made a small explosion, destroying more that surrounded them.

"That makes one hundred, fifty seven out of a possible one thousand. I guess I should step it up a little." She said with a small smile.

"Black Rose"

She focused a great amount of energy into her weapons and they grew in size and became serrated. She let out a yell and plunged them into the ground. Several blades came out, each impaling one Nobody. Spines shot out of those and impaled even more. The spines continued to circle throughout the crowd of squirming Nobodys, and soon they were all dead and it seemed like she was standing in a twisted maze.

The ground trembled and she stumbled, quickly righting herself. A large, silvery thing came out of the open space next to the platform. It stepped daintily onto the platform, despite its size. Leashex was unfazed, even though it was comparable in size to a Darkside Heartless.

She smiled thinly.

"Well, this is a surprise. Not shocking, just a small surprise. Also, not challenging."

Her eyes widened when a glowing orb encompassed her abdomen.

"What the hell is this?"

She looked up at the giant Nobody and ran after it, completely forgetting the orb. After five steps, it disappeared and a huge arm stretched across the platform, grabbing her in a crushing grip. She tried to struggle out of its grasp, but for some reason, the vice-like grip was too strong for her. It tossed her up into the air and jumped after her. Once her ascent stopped and she began to fall, the hand that grabbed her became a fist and it punched her, the fist itself being larger than her entire body. She was thrown back a few yards.

The Nobody sank into the ground, almost as if it was sucked in by it, and it appeared in front of her. It was pulling back its fist for another punch and as the fist rocketed towards her, she did a small roll and was able to plant her feet on the arm. She ran along the length of the arm, jumped up and landed on the arm with the tips of both Chaos and Anarchy cutting through the Nobodys arm. It let out a hollow cry and tried hitting her with its remaining arm. It missed, however and she ran for its head. Both blades ablaze with dark energy.

When she got close enough, she jumped down and fell along its back towards the ground, where she dug both blades into the ground. Black vines shot out from where she landed and completely enclosed the Nobody. She stood upright and pushed the two blades in the rest of the way.

"Black Rose, Iron Maiden!"

Black spikes exploded through the vines and went so far that they appeared on either side of the black prison they created. The prison disappeared and the vanishing Nobody stumbled once, twice and fell face first. There was nothing left.

Ashlee looked at the place where Twilight Thorn was and with a small shrug, dismissed her weapons and walked away.

* * *

Venxik looked around with a bored look on his face. There were Samurai Nobodys all around him, but they weren't attacking him, just staring. He reached his mind out and touched the consciousness of the Nobodys and a rush of thought came into his head.

_Where's Vice? We are waiting!_

_If he doesn't hurry, we will attack._

_Stop the Heartless! Stop the Heartless!_

_Let the Glorious Advance begin! Destroy the Heartless!_

_I can't take it now! I must attack!_

One of the Samurai in the crowd disappeared and reappeared behind Venxik, beginning a slash. Things moved in slow motion as Venxik sidestepped the attack and gracefully swung Interfecit around, removing the Nobody's head from its shoulders. It collapsed to the ground and faded, another rush of thoughts came to his head.

_Fool._

_Idiot._

_He should have waited._

Venxik laughed and decided to play.

"If he was the idiot, than why are you all so eager to destroy me? If you want to destroy me so bad. Go on ahead. **Try**."

_Foolish Heartless. How dare you question our strength?_

_We will destroy you!_

_For the Glorious Advance!_

Even more Nobodys left the crowd, about twenty of them. They surrounded Venxik, all preparing an attack. Venxik laughed and spun in a circle, holding Interfecit out as far as he can. He channelled energy into the sword and a black shockwave was unleashed that washed over all of the Nobodys, destroying them instantly. As well as the first two rows of Samurai that stood waiting.

Venxik grinned, showing his pointed teeth and jumped up into the air, and let himself sink into the low ceiling. He crawled in the darkness, completely unnoticed and he made four duplicates of himself. They dropped from the ceiling and landed in the crowd of the Nobodys. He dropped from the ceiling, spread out his wings and flew back. As he was landing, he stretched out his right hand and closed it into a fist.

"Combust"

The clones burst in a fiery explosion, each taking twenty of the Samurais with them.

"One hundred one down. You guys are going to die soon. I suggest backing off and letting your leader visit."

_Cocky fool._

_Does he question Vice and __Caineghis?_

_Silence, all of you. None of you should have attacked. The first twenty-one that died, will be seen as a disgrace among us. Now all of you step down and leave, at once._

The Samurai all bowed and a smile crept over Venxik's mouth. As the Samurai disappeared, a bolt of fire shot at Venxik. He sidestepped it and returned a bolt of darkness.

"So, you are Vice, the Samurai leader and the rightful ruler of the Nobodys. Show yourself."

Vice stepped out of his hiding place, a large, flaming sword in his hand. There was a large scar on his face that disfigured it.

"You're right, I was supposed to be the king of the Nobodys. I didn't want such a position, however and I handed it over to Gabrielle. Venxik, ruler of the Heartless. I will give you one last chance to leave the castle. If you don't, then you will have the hot plasma of Caineghis cut through your shadowy flesh, and you will be shown no mercy." Vice said.

Venxik threw his head back and laughed.

"Oh! This is great! Someone that is confident and not blindly angered!"

He held Interfecit ready, as Vice held Caineghis ready. They both sank into the ground, and there was a resounding clang as the two invisible forces met. The reappeared, swords locked against each other.

Venxik grinned.

"Well Vice, you're not so bad."

"Same with you Venxik. Maybe this will be an interesting fight after all."

Vice pulled his sword away, jumped back to avoid Interfecit and disappeared, only to reappear behind Venxik. He slashed with the flaming blade and the wings on Venxik's back billowed out, blocking the sword. Darkness erupted from the wound the blade made and encircled the two in a black world. Venxik turned around to face Vice and a large wind blew Vice back.

He landed gracefully and glared at Venxik, who was a good twenty feet away. Venxik disappeared and reappeared in front of Vice. He looked down on the Nobody with a superior grin and hoisted him up off of the ground easily with one hand. Some darkness flowed from Vice and entered Venxik. Venxik threw away the leader and a small black flame danced on his palm.

"What kind of trickery is this?" Vice said with strain being clear in his voice.

_I feel so __**weak**__. _He thought.

The ball of black flame grew in size so that it was larger than Venxik's opened palm. He waved his left hand over the flame and it disappeared.

"What I just did to you, Vice is an ancient magical ability known as 'Cleansing'. The ancient priest from thirteenth century England who discovered it, named it Cleansing. For the three hundred years it was used, priests used the power to drain the darkness from possessed people. That was when the exorcisms and the intentions of holy men were truly for the betterment of humanity. This was also when the worlds were all one massive entity. After the first hundred years of use, the priests began to get dark and evil thoughts and some committed many atrocities. Fifty years later, the priests became bolder in their evil attacks. Some being lecherous enough to be rapists, and some using God's name to get them money from the people that went to their churches. One priest even became overcome with so much darkness that his very physical form was changed. He became the first Heartless. He then passed on some of his own darkness to two nuns, who were his sisters. Over the last one hundred fifty years of its use by the church, they caused the very foundations of the Earth to weaken. Once the people of the church realized the evil this gift from God held, the first three Heartless completely shattered Earth, making a hundred new worlds. New, smaller worlds were being born excruciatingly fast. However, when this "calamity" happened that made the Earth shatter, the three Heartless lost their strength and each became a different artefact that remain hidden to this day. Five hundred years later, Kevin, my Somebody was born, and he had this same magical ability that the priests had. He never knew about it however, but he did have a soothing effect on others around him. When the day came, fifteen years later, that he lost his heart, all of the ability was transferred to me. Now then, the ability only works on dark entities, but it seems that beings made of nothing, such as Nobodys are effected in the same way as people with darkness in their hearts or just Heartless in general. I also devised a way to steal abilities from those that I "cleanse", adding on to my already boundless power. So Vice, ready yourself."

He disappeared and reappeared ten feet over Vice, Interfecit pointed directly at the Nobody leader. He shot down at Vice, moving extremely fast and the Nobody didn't have time to leave.

He screwed his face with concentration and raised Caineghis to parry the blow. Interfecit and Caineghis connected, making a large shockwave that illuminated the dark dome they were in and Vice sank into a crater the impact made. Shards of metal and darkness in all directions and the dome dissipated. Venxik stood over Vice, raising Interfecit for the final strike. The Nobody leader grinned and disappeared from sight and appeared on the edge of the crater, standing up. Interfecit came down into the empty ground. Vice vanished and reappeared behind Venxik and aimed a slash at his back with Caineghis being on fire. The hit connected and Venxik was thrown away with his back smouldering. He rolled unintentionally mid-air and landed on his wound.

He let out a cry of pain as he slid several feet, the uneven ground felt like it was cutting into his wound. His head connected with an angled wall and it collapsed. Vice was over him, Caineghis ready to come down.

"Now Venxik, it ends."

* * *

The Ugral was standing, with one fat hand covering his brow. His eyes scanned the sunny horizon, and he saw a cloud of fast moving dust and Kevin looked boredly around, seeing a small object moving through the sky in the direction away from where the Ugral was facing. It made a decent and Kevin sighed. He returned his attention to the Ugral and the fast-approaching cloud of desert sand. Its mouth twisted into a disgusting smile and it grabbed Kevin roughly by the arm. His legs were unbound the night before by the Ugral because he didn't have the strength to run away, due to a lack of food and water. The cloud began to slow down dissipate, and a small feather appeared over the top of it.

When it was closer, the cloud completely diminished, revealing a man that seemed to have the physique of a runner. The Ugral bowed.

"Lord Durza. Please take this child and—" He was cut off, however as Durza's blade flicked out and neatly clove the monster's head off.

He looked down at Kevin with slight annoyance and spat on the corpse.

"You, boy are to come with me. You and your sorcerery are going to be needed. Galbatorix has even found a partner for you, if you survive captivity. I will not be held responsible for what my own men do. Now drink this water and stand up. If you bother running, I will destroy you with a single thought. Literally."

Kevin looked at the water he was given. It was poured out of a canteen into a small cap. Just by looking at it, he could tell something was wrong. Without even giving it a second thought, he raised his hand and a small tendril of clear liquid came out of the cup. It wasn't water. He released his grip on the liquid and it dropped onto the sand, where it was eagerly sucked in. He raised the cup to his lips and drank eagerly and Durza laughed.

"So, you detected the drug? It's a good thing that Ugral didn't bash your skull in."

Kevin smiled at the new transport, as the Ugral so bluntly put it.

"Yeah, I kind of guessed that if I was stranded in a strange place, and I was using sorcerous abilities that would be a threat to people, a drug would be slipped into my food so my judgment, motor skills and train of thought would all be ruined. Putting me in a vegetative state. I already get that fleeing would cause death for me, so I think it would be best to just go along with whatever it is that you are going to do to me."

Durza laughed and ruffled Kevin's hair.

"Oh my, yes. You are a brilliant child, aren't you? You aren't even old enough to marry, and yet you can think with more sharpness than most men on this continent. I can see why Galbatorix was interested in you. Now then, I am going to put you on my shoulders, and I am going to run. It may seem stupid to you right now, but it won't be when I start running."

Before Kevin could react, deathly cold hands wrapped themselves around his wrist, and he suddenly became overcome by dark and twisted images. He screamed in what was a mix of pain and terror and fell unconscious.

* * *

_Murtagh, do you see those four down there? They seem to be lost travellers. Look at those black things that are surrounding them! They are the same creatures that attacked us last night! We must help them!_

_Yes Saphira, I believe you are right. If those things are attacking those people, then those people aren't allies of Galbatorix. Either way, we must be wary._

Saphira, a magnificent dragon that was covered in shimmering sapphire blue scales let out a ferocious roar and landed down on a pack of Large Body Heartless. The man on her back, Murtagh dropped down and clove a Soldier Heartless in two with his sword. His hair was a wild mess and he wore leather trousers and a worn tunic.

He looked over at the four travellers that were standing with their backs to each other, ignoring him and the dragon. A girl with fiery hair threw out a flaming disk at a group of Heartless and killed them all at once. A blonde haired girl sent out a purple sphere that crushed several heartless. The boy waved his hands around as sand cascaded over the creatures and crushed them, and the girl shot out needles of ice that sheared through rows of Heartless.

Saphira roared and took to the sky when five Wyverns appeared in the air. She was immediately swarmed and the Heartless were attacking her viciously. They stopped however, when a bunch of sharp stones shot up and tore the Heartless to pieces. Saphira looked down at the people and saw they finished off the remaining Heartless. She landed gingerly, trying not to agitate her injuries.

Murtagh looked at the travellers and pointed his sword at them.

"Who exactly are you, and what are you doing here? Also, just for safe measure, who is the leader of your group?"

Tom stepped forward and cleared his throat. He felt something bore into his spine and he turned around to see Jasmine glare coldly at him. He returned her glare and opened her mouth.

"You know what Jasmine? Screw off! You need to stop acting this way. If you don't stop being such an asshat, I will personally make sure you will live a life of hell."

He returned to Murtagh.

"The leader is, Andrea." He pointed at Andrea.

Andrea smiled sweetly at Tom, who blushed.

"I am only acting as a second in command. Our friend, Kevin, and our actual leader disappeared two days ago. We believe he was kidnapped. We are strangers to this area, so we are pretty damn lost. Do you mind helping us?"

_Well Saphira, are they trustworthy?_

_Yes they are Murtagh, they only showed signs of confusion when their minds were touched. And hello young lady, what exactly are you doing?_

The young lady in question was Andrea, who gingerly touched her snout. Her eyes wide open.

"Kevin would squeal over you. Can you speak?"

Saphira pulled her lips back in a grin, making Andrea jump. A small growl escaped from the dragon, and Andrea was even more surprised. She was about to move away, when she realized the dragon was laughing. She gasped as she felt something touch her consciousness.

_Yes, little one, I can speak only through my mind, however. Tell me, what are the other worlds like?_

_The other worlds? I don't really know how to describe them. They are all different from each other, and each world has different people inhabiting them. They are strange and magical places. Can you tell me your name and what this world is like?_

_Okay, I shall also let your friends here this. Tom, Ashlee and Jasmine, right?_

_Yes?_

_Yeah?_

_Uh-huh?_

_This world is a vast place. The cruel king, Galbatorix, rules the majority of this world. The other parts are the Beor Mountains and the forests to the north are ruled by the dwarves and elves, respectively._

Murtagh stepped in and looked at Andrea and Saphira with a nod.

"So, Andrea, your leader went missing two days ago? So did my friend Eragon. There may be a connection between the two. I know where they would have most likely been taken. It is a couple days walk from here. We had horses, but we had to leave them behind. Shall we be moving?"

Andrea looked at Murtagh and nodded.

"We should, and we should try to get to them as soon as possible."

* * *

Author's Note: Eleven pages, 4,300 words or so. Anyone here say woot? The stories of the new world, which is Alagesia are being tied together, the leader battles are concluding, and I have given you, my readers two amazing cliffhangers. The Iron Maiden is a torture device that was initially used two hundred years ago. It is a metal casket that is about seven feet tall and three feet wide. It is opened by double doors, which have spikes welded into the inside. Very gruesome thing, it is.

* * *

Kray: A Nobody leader. He leads the Gamblers. Nothing is known about his abilities in battle, but he shows signs of sympathy. Especially to a devastated Axdrane.

Dawn: A Nobody leader. She leads the Dragoons. Nothing is really known about her abilities in battle, because she was destroyed before she could land a good attack. As a human, she was a cruel and heartless murderer that enjoyed only seeing others writhe in pain.

Vice: A Nobody leader and the most powerful of the Nobodys, as well as their rightful king. Vice leads the Samurai, who talk about something called the Glorious Advance. Vice's sword, Caineghis was originally the property of his brother, Axe. Who Vice himself killed when a battle broke out between the two Nobodys. Vice is the creation of Firestorm Studios. I hope I did a good job portraying his personality.

Durza: A Shade and the right hand man of Galbatorix, king of Alagesia. He was originally a sorcerer in training, who had summoned spirits to avenge his master after his death. The spirits however turned on him and overwhelmed him, making him a Shade and a threat to Alagesia. As a Shade, he is far more powerful than any human and can only be killed by having his heart pierced.

Galbatorix: The evil king of Alagesia. He was originally a Dragon Rider, but when his first dragon died, he was overcome with grief and became insane. He tried to get a new dragon, but the council refused him another dragon and he sought revenge. After many years, he had wiped the Dragon Riders out and was the usurper king of Alagesia.


	19. Survival

Author's Note: Holy bloody something or others! That last chapter was my biggest yet! It was a challenge all right. Now, the only question is: What will happen now?

* * *

Chapter Nineteen: Survival.

Kevin woke up what felt like days later. He was in a musty cell, on a mouldy straw mat. The walls around him were damp brick, and there was another straw mat in the corner where another prisoner was sleeping. The cell was about fifteen square feet in area, and eight feet in height. Kind of like a depressing bedroom.

He groggily sat up and stretched his arms wide. He stood up and looked out the window. It was dusk. Just how long was he here? He scanned the courtyard through the barred window and saw a water well about ten feet away. He got a idea that came to him so suddenly, he didn't bother to hide his smile.

"Heh, if I could do it in the desert, than what's stopping me from doing it here? Now, a good question is, how the hell do I do it?"

_Well, let's think about the methods people's fiction give us. Let's see here… Well, people have been able to get water by thinking about water. Such as waterfalls and things like that, or just happy things. But that is for conjuring water, I just want to get some from the well. Another thing mentioned in books is to force your will over the object and it will become yours. Kind of like telekinesis. So, if I can concentrate on the water in that well, I should be able to make some of it come up, and into my mouth._

He looked at the well, focusing solely on the water that was inside. He felt something with his mind and he tugged. Really hard. A huge torrent of water erupted from the well and Kevin screamed in horror as all of it came rocketing towards him. He severed the tie he had on the water and it dropped on a guard below who cursed angrily and looked up with a glare.

Kevin fell back, his chest heaving and he was taking in big gulps of air.

"If I didn't break the connection sooner, I would have drowned! Holy crap!"

He watched Durza come out to stand next to the sodden guard and removed the water with a wave of his hands and some words Kevin couldn't quite hear. Soon, the water was all back in the well and the ground, and guard were both dry.

The person on the straw mat groaned and sat up and looked at Kevin with a dazed and goofy smile.

"'Ey, who are you? Did you get caught too?" He chortled drunkenly and Kevin shivered. The person was no older than he was. If Kevin did take the drug, he would have probably been in the same state as this person was.

He walked towards Kevin with a drunken swagger; he held his hand out and his mouth opened into a sloppy grin.

"M'name's Eragon. What's yur name?"

Kevin looked Eragon in the eyes and a smile crept over his mouth. His eyes seemed amazingly sharp for such a drunken person. He was going to play along.

"Yeh drunken bastard. Meh name's Kevin."

It was Eragon's turn to look surprised. His drunken composure cleared for a second, and Kevin caught the sober look in his cellmate's eyes. His smile grew. His smile faded, however when something seemed to touch his mind. Eragon's hand recoiled and he looked at Kevin with shock.

"You were actually captured! And by a Shade, too! Your mind is really weird too. A lot of weird places and people are there."

Kevin sobered up and tilted his head to the right.

"Say what?"

Eragon smiled, but shook his head.

"I really don't think I should explain it. Now look drunk, the guards are coming."

He immediately went back to his out of focus gaze, and Kevin flopped back onto his straw mat. Making a small squelching noise, his stomach did a small flip. A tendril of thought touched his mind and a voice spoke.

_Don't worry Kevin, it's Eragon. Be careful not to eat the food or drink the water. The drug was slipped into it. I have been without food or drink for days because of it. If you want to talk to me, just think._

_Okay Eragon. Don't worry though; I think I know how to deal with the drug. That's why I only came unconscious and not drugged._

_Really? How?_

_I can't really explain, I just don't think I should._

The mental connection was snapped as a guard walked into the room. He smelled heavily of rum, and he had two trays of poorly made food in his hands. A servant in tattered clothes was behind him, a flask of clear liquid in one hand, and two wooden cups of water in the other.

"The runt's still asleep, eh? Well, you can take his food if you want. I still think that he should be given a shirt, the mould on that mat will make him itch like hell."

Kevin heard everything the man said, and suddenly had the urge to scratch himself. He couldn't bear it anymore. So he sat up, stretched, yawned and looked around with a dazed expression.

"Where am I? This isn' my 'ome," He looked at the guard with a drunken smile, and continued with his heavily slurred voice. "O! Muh fud! Thanks man! I needed it! I was 'orried I was gunna eat my cell mate!" He laughed and forced a hiccup.

"Ahahah. Me tu! I was really 'orried I 'ould ett you tu!"

The guard looked at the 'drugged' teens with disgust and placed the food on the floor. His servant did the same, and they both left. Once their footsteps died down, they both sobered up and Kevin approached the food. He focused on the liquid inside the bread they were given and drew it out. It was a clear, oily liquid and he guided it out the window with his hands. He grinned happily and followed it to the window. He looked out and the guard was still there. He was talking to a young woman in a very revealing blouse. His face scrunched up with disgust and he lowered the liquid down and made it go into both of their mouths. They swallowed and immediately fell unconscious.

He looked at the water and focused on it. He could feel something in the water that had a lower viscosity, and his drew it out of the cup and threw it out the window, where it landed in the well with a light _plunk._

"So Kevin, it's drug free?" Eragon asked, looking at the food experimentally. Kevin looked at the food with a scrutinizing gaze and sighed.

"I can't tell for sure. We could always test it on the guard. But it would be suspicious. One of us could eat it and we would know whether or not it's drugged. The other one could watch over us and make sure everything is okay during the time we are drugged. If we are, that is. I think, that in all fairness, I will take the food as a test. A bite and a sip of both of our terrible meals to make sure the drug is totally gone."

He did as he said, and when he finished, he was overcome with a wave of dizziness. He staggered slightly and Eragon gave Kevin a rough mental shove, snapping him out of it.

He looked at his cellmate with surprise.

"I never would have expected that to work, thanks Eragon. At least we know how to counter the drug. I think, we should still play it safe and remove as much as we can before we eat. It was only the bread that had traces of the drug. Do you mind having extra dry bread? I don't think I do."

Eragon nodded and Kevin drained every last bit of moisture from the bread. He quickly thought it over and took some water from the cups and put it on the bread. He raised it up in toast and ate it wolfishly.

* * *

"So, Murtagh. Are we close?" Jasmine asked, hugging Murtagh tightly from behind on Saphira's back.

Down below, Tom was ferrying the others on the sand by using his powers to move it. He was doing his best to make it move at Saphira's pace.

Ashlee was nearly hopping up and down on the moving carpet of sand because she wanted to get at the bastards that took Kevin prisoner. She gagged as they went by a giant corpse that was once a monster that had a head. Now it was decapitated. Their sand pile rolled over the head and she nearly vomited.

Two hours passed, and Tom and Saphira were both getting tired. The good news was that the prison village was in sight. The place Eragon and Kevin were being held.

_If we hurry up, it will be about an hour's run. I think we should give it our all for thirty minutes and take a break. Andrea, Ashlee Jasmine and Murtagh can walk the rest of the way._ Saphira said to all of them.

They nodded and Tom and Saphira sped off, making sure the others were with them.

* * *

"Now Venxik it ends." Vice said.

Venxik grinned, showing his pointed teeth.

"Indeed it does Vice. Combust."

Venxik exploded in a ball of fire, and Vice was thrown back several feet. He landed firmly on his feet and skidded a yard before he stopped entirely. He inched backwards and bumped into a human shape. Before he could react, a hand went to his throat and squeezed. He was lifted off the ground and Venxik looked at him from behind.

"Isn't it terrifying Vice? Not knowing what is going to happen now? You can't see me. For all you know, I could be holding Interfecit an inch away from your head, ready to make the killing blow."

He threw Vice to the ground and didn't break his stare.

"I however don't want to end your life that way. If you die, you deserve to die with honour. Even I, a Heartless can agree with that."

He held Interfecit ready.

"So Vice, stand up and fight."

For the second time, they vanished and clashed invisibly. They reappeared and Venxik looked far more sinister than he did before. His eyes were wide and were glowing yellow. Darkness was pooling around his feet and his teeth were longer and sharp. His wings were billowed out and seemed demonic.

"How do you like this Vice? I just tapped into my reserves of darkness. Do you think the hot plasma of Caineghis can stand up to my power now?" He said with a cackle. His voice was warped and demented. It sounded like he was screeching, but his words were clear.

He used his left hand to hold Interfecit and used his right hand to fire a huge blast of dark energy at Vice. Vice was blown back and Venxik disappeared and reappeared behind Vice, slashed him up in the air and followed him. He slashed at the Nobody several more times before doing a flip and kicking Vice down into the ground. There was a loud crack and the ground below him exploded inwards and he was hanging on for dear life at the edge of the hole his impact made. Five thousand feet below Vice was the bottom of the great crater that the Castle That Never Was floated over.

Caineghis fell down after him, and the hot plasma of the blade sank easily into the floor before Vice's hand. A serene smile swept over the Samurai's face and he thought, _So brother, is this your final revenge against me? It's only fitting, I assume._

The ground around his hand crackled and shattered. Vice and Caineghis fell down the five thousand foot drop and Venxik left for the Altar of Naught.

* * *

After his ravenous eating of the food, Eragon had fallen asleep and Kevin sat by the cell door, waiting for Ashlee, Andrea, Jasmine and Tom to come. He just knew that they were going to come. He wasn't able to explain how he knew, he just did. He decided to think about the mental communication Eragon was able to do.

_The communication is obviously mental. If it is, how do I do it? Would I just will my mind into someone else's mind and speak? And if I could, would I be able to do more than that? Maybe control someone, or read his or her memories? Yeah, they probably could read memories. After all, when we shook hands, I was an open book to Eragon. In a matter of seconds, he learned that I was from a different world. Another thing I need to think about is whether or not this mental communication can be activated with only physical contact. If it isn't, and you can tap into someone's mind whenever you want, it could become an invaluable weapon if someone you couldn't conquer physically attacked you. If you could wreak havoc in someone's mind, would it be possible to throw up a defence to block out someone else's mental attack?_

Kevin suddenly was stricken with a bright idea and smiled to himself.

_Thanks Gard ole Gard for the wonderful idea! Maybe I could, like Jim Gardener from The Tommyknockers, repeat a phrase or song over and over in my head to block out mental traffic. It would be better if I had some steel plates in my head too. He chuckled quietly._

He decided to test it out. Guiltily he shook Eragon to wake him up.

"Come on Eragon, wake up. There is something I want to try out. What the?"

Kevin realized something by how limp Eragon was. Maybe the drug took effect inside him. Maybe his water was tainted somehow. He decided to see if he could enter Eragon's mind.

With some strain, he concentrated on his mind and tried to will his consciousness into Eragon's mind. He felt a weird, dizzying sensation as he felt something slip from his mind. His concentration broke and the feeling vanished. He shook his head vigorously and tried again. This time, the sensation was much smaller and he felt something like a liquid float around his head. Keeping his concentration, he moved his hand around his head and found nothing. He closed his eyes and saw a jumbled mess of emotions and thoughts.

He saw an old man get attacked by hideous monsters in black cloaks; they had bird-like beaks, which stabbed into the man's shoulder. Kevin shuddered at the sight. He then saw Eragon, in less shape than he was now. He was carrying a bow, and he was startled by a sudden earthshaking explosion. After watching the memory Eragon run for about a minute, he and the memory Eragon saw a sapphire blue stone. It had amazing veins running along it. It must have been worth a lot of money. He found another memory in which Eragon was flying on the back of an enraged blue dragon. Its scales were the same colour as the stone. (Was that stone a dragon egg?). He heard an enraged feminine voice roar, "Egg breakers!" and the vision vanished and Kevin was back in the cell. Eragon was sitting up and awake.

Eragon was glaring at Kevin.

"So, I see you can enter minds. I thought you couldn't, Kevin."

Kevin raised his hands up in surrender.

"I wasn't able to, Eragon! But after you entered my mind, and talked to me, I quickly figured out how. That, coupled with the technique I used to manipulate the water. Now, as for the test I wanted to try, I want you to try and enter my mind. I want to see if I figured out how to block mental probes out."

Warily, Eragon sent his mind out and he flinched with a confused expression.

"Who is Ashlee?"

Kevin smiled. "The person that's going to rescue me."

* * *

Durza sat on his comfortable, cushioned chair and smiled.

"This boys magical development is moving at an astonishing pace, but he is beginning to become friends with the Dragon Rider. I can't allow that. Maybe I can get him away."

_Galbatorix, my lord! The Nobody is already developing mental powers and is learning more and more just from the environment around him! Perhaps you were right about taking him under your wing! How close are you? He is becoming a friend of Eragon, and we may be running out of time. They both have friends; Kevin's being very powerful. If they storm the prison, both Nobody and Dragon Rider may escape. Who do you want more?_

_Get me the Nobody, I will be at the prison within the hour._

_Yes, my lord._

Durza's smile left and he stood up and grimly walked down to the cell. Little did he know that Kevin and Eragon's rescuers were only fifteen minutes away, and the first line of guards was already destroyed.

* * *

Ashlee wiped her forehead as he whip cut through another mans armor and burned his torso. It wrapped around him and she pulled him in, delivering a punishing kick to his chest that pushed in his armor, it dug into his chest and knocked him out cold. Even more men surrounded her, and men on the roofs with crossbows took aim at her. Bolts of lightning materialized over their heads and they were engulfed with the electrical attack. They all dropped dead from the attack, some falling to the ground with a sickening crunch.

_Ashlee, it's Kevin! Hurry up!_

_Kevin? How do I know you aren't someone else?_

_Uh, let's see here… I am the ultimate in sexy?_

_Ugh, okay. I'm coming._

She heard Kevin mentally cry in pain and the connection was severed.

She bit her lower lip and spun around in a circle, the whips grew hot and stung the men. Causing burns to be made on their sides. Ashlee cried out in frustration and threw them away.

"Stupid pieces of shit!"

She summoned balls of pale blue fire and launched them at the men. She continued her assault, the air around one man superheated and he died because the oxygen was burned up. One of the men dropped his sword and ran away crying, "Witch! Witch! The devil has sent a witch!"

She picked up the sword and grinned evilly at the men. The pale blue flame danced along the blade and she charged at them, swinging and stabbing with deadly precision.

* * *

Kevin woke up from his daze to see Durza standing before him. He seemed to be in an office of sorts. He looked around to see the lack of furniture and odd torture decices, such as an iron maiden.

There was a loud crash and Jasmine, Andrea and Ashlee were all standing in the room. Breathing heavily. Kevin noticed with some surprise that Ashlee was now carrying a blazing sword. He tried to stand up from his chair, but the sword at his throat that was being held by an Invisible Heartless began to push in. Surrounding him were four Invisibles, and Durza was in front of him.

"Guys! Just run away! I can escape by myself! Save Eragon and Arya and run damnit! These guys will kill you!" Kevin yelled. His voice was strained, due to the serrated blade at his throat.

Jasmine glared at Kevin.

"Yeah right we are going. We had to waste our time burning down half the prison (which was somewhat fun), killing people and running through countless hallways to come and find you! Yeah right we are going to just leave. If you really want to stay with them, I will beat the crap out of you."

Kevin returned her glare and sighed in defeat.

"Please, just don't. Ashlee, you know how powerful these Heartless are! Even one alone was too much for us!"

Ashlee glared at him now. Her sword was burning brighter.

"Oh you annoying little ass! You just have to be the hero, don't you? Why don't you just stop screaming at us and sit quietly like a good damsel in distress and let the three warriors sent to rescue you do just that!"

Kevin sighed and looked away. Durza laughed and pointed his hand up at the ceiling above the girls' heads.

"Brisingr."

A black flame shot out of his hand and completely obliterated the ceiling, several stones and pieces of wood rained down on them, completely cutting the two groups off. The Invisibles left and Durza laughed. A large black dragon with a man on its back flew down through the hole Durza made. The Shade bowed as the man stepped off the dragon.

He walked over to Kevin and grabbed him firmly by the chin and inspected his face. Kevin immediately felt the mental probe and began throwing up his defence, almost instinctively. The man looked confused, but shattered the barrier and easily hoisted Kevin off of the ground. He smiled like a child that just found the most amazing toy on earth and said, "Yes, you will suit my plans perfectly."

* * *

Andrea stood on the other side of the rubble. Heard Durza laugh and began pounding on it with her hands. Vigorously digging away at it. Jasmine and Ashlee did the same.

"Damnit Kevin! We're coming!" She cired.

Murtagh ran up the stairs and grabbed Ashlee's arm, crying, "We have to go, NOW!" Behind him was a boy that was no older than she was, and he was carrying a girl that looked like an elf. Ashlee shook her head. No, that would be impossible.

They ran through the hallways and into a kitchen. Ashlee, Andrea, Jasmine, the boy and the unconscious girl hid under a table, not moving or making a sound. Murtagh ran off to the storeroom to get Eragon's sword and bow back and Durza entered the room, looking at the tables, blasting some away with the wave of his hand.

"I know you're in here. Galbatorix has already left with your friend Kevin. You are lucky he didn't decide to take you instead, Dragon Rider!" He yelled.

Ashlee stood up from the hiding spot and glared at Durza.

"Oh, so the cowardly Dragon Rider is sending in a girl to fight for him! How heroic!" He cried jeeringly.

"Nah, I just wanted to take you on myself. After all, you kidnapped Kevin, didn't you? So, I guess I should have revenge, or something." The sword in her hand was growing hot.

She ran at the Shade, letting the sword cut through tables she ran by, some of them catching on fire. When she got close, she threw it and it went straight through his head. He cried in anger and pain, and vanished in a puff of dark smoke. The ceiling above them burst open and Saphira's head was looking down upon them.

_Come little ones! Murtagh is on my back; I was able to pick him up! Give me the elf and Eragon_.

* * *

"Well Kevin, this is your new home now. I hope you enjoy it. Also, to avoid suspicion, yourself and your partner will be seen as my children. Okay?"

Kevin nodded. He looked up as he heard approaching footsteps and saw a shadow begin to rise up on the wall down one of the many paths. A boy, who looked pale and looked to be his age walked out of the hall. He had a large green sword, and a tunic, as well as leather trousers. Galbatorix laughed.

"Kevin, I would like you to meet your brother, Xunahs."

* * *

Author's Note: Well! I have done it! Chapter nineteen is finished! A lot of things happened in this chapter, and things will be dying down for a while.

Saphira: Eragon's dragon. They share an amazing mental bond and have somewhat of a symbiotic relationship together. She is intelligent and caring towards Eragon, and often motherly.

Eragon: The last Dragon Rider. He was raised on a farm as a boy and was destined to become a Dragon Rider. He is a powerful swordsman and is good with the mysterious magic intertwined with the Ancient Language. He will watch over Saphira constantly, to make sure she is okay.

Murtagh: Eragon's friend that he met in the desert. He has a mysterious past that is intertwined with Galbatorix. Even Eragon himself doesn't know whether to trust Murtagh or not.

Galbatorix: The evil, ruthless king of Alagaesia. He took down the entire order of Dragon Riders. He left only Oromis and Brom alone, however. Now he is king of Alagesia, and a former Dragon Rider. He commands hundreds of evil creatures that he uses in both his attacks on the Varden and for his political schemes.


	20. Training Begins

* * *

Author's Note: Last chapter was sexy, no matter what you say. I am without witty comment.

SkyLandOcean: Thank you for the review! Events will be dimming down, sadly enough.

Chapter 20: Training Begins.

Kevin approached Xunahs and shook his hand.

"Nice to meet you Xunahs. I guess I should be calling you 'brother' or something. My name's Kevin."

"Same, how did you get to be here? I was told to come here."

"Well, I was captured and taken prisoner. Shortly after I learned how to mind speak, I was knocked out by Durza and held captive before I was taken away. Not fun. I think I still have a bump on my head."

Kevin felt the back of his head, and found dried blood. He sighed, "Nope, worse. Dried blood."

Kevin watched a servant that was finely dressed walked up to Kevin, holding a green tunic. It looked nearly the same as Xunahs'.

"Here young sir, a tunic ordered by the king. He wishes only the best for his right hand men. Or should I say children?"

Kevin accepted and put it on.

"Thank you very much. It was a bit chilly in here."

The servant raised his nose up and left down the hallway Xunahs came from. They jumped as a voice reached into their heads. They looked at each other, and realized that they were both being talked to.

_Kevin, Xunahs, I want you two to get some rest. Your rooms are up the stairs to the left in the main entrance. You will both find your rooms to be suitable for your needs._ The voice said. It was Galbatorix.

After twenty minutes of searching, Kevin and Xunahs found their respective rooms and entered them to find an amazing surprise.

"Oh my God! My room is a library!" Kevin cried as he ran across the tiled floor and past his bed that looked like a larger version of the one he had at home. Minus the blue dyed sheets.

He pulled off a random book from the shelf. It was entitled: "Language of the Elves."

He opened the hefty book to its introduction page and read out loud the introduction.

"The Ancient Language, the primary language the elves of Alagaesia speak contains some mystical ability that allows the person to use the words to warp the space around him or her to make amazing things happen. The spells that can be used are limited to how many words there are in this special language. Which is as many as the words in our own English language and then some. The most basic of the spells is most likely the Brisingr spell. While it isn't exactly a spell, just the word for fire; if the person that says 'Brisingr' wants a flame to be made, the flame will. The Ancient Language has many uses, from art, to combat, to healing or even binding evil forces. Another interesting trait of the Ancient Language is that whoever speaks it is completely unable to tell a lie while speaking the language. This can be bypassed, however if the person using the words believe his or her statement is true, regardless of the reality those words may or may not lack. Please refer to page iii for the introduction on the spells themselves."

Kevin read the part on the fire spell again and remembered what had happened only an hour ago in the prison. He vividly remembered Durza using the Brisingr spell and shooting it up at the ceiling, and completely dismantling it. He hoped Ashlee, Andrea and Jasmine were okay.

He turned to page iii and read the opening paragraph for spell control.

"The most basic thing about the Ancient Language (and the absolute most important) is that the energy needed to cast these spells is drawn from your own physical strength and life force. To overuse a spell, or make a spell to do something you could not physically do would most certainly kill you. Such as bringing someone back to life with the Waise Heill spell (Which literally translates as: Be healed.). Magical exhaustion can be combated, however by eating a meal or resting. A combination of both is best. If you are in a siege; it would be safest to only use your mental abilities to dominate foes, and use spells on those you can't get at."

Kevin closed the book, and stood up. It was time to look at what else this amazing room held. The room alone was larger than the main floor of his old house on the islands. He found an oak door and pushed it open. He nearly cried at what he saw beyond it. Inside the door he opened was a tub that looked to be about ten feet deep and eight feet wide in both directions. There was also a water basin where he could wash his face; a neat razor blade and cloth were there on its ledge. But he didn't care about that. He only had eyes for the so-called tub.

After he washed up, he went to his bed and fell asleep. The next day, his training would begin, and Xunahs would be working alongside him.

* * *

Ashlee was in a slump. Their rescue mission was a failure. Kevin was still in the prison, or even dead. However, Eragon, Saphira and Murtagh were reunited, so there was at least one good outcome. After their dinner of rabbit stew (which she and Andrea barely ate) Tom, Eragon, Murtagh and Jasmine practiced fighting each other while Saphira tried to console the depressed girls.

_Come now, I am sure your friend will be okay. If he really is the Keybearer, you have nothing to worry about. In the furthest recesses of Alagesian history, the Keybearer is seen as a great hero, and would have just as much, if not more power than an elf at his or her best Kevin will be okay. Just cheer up, being depressed will not save him. Get stronger so that you can fight for him to return._

Ashlee raised her head and picked up the sword she savagely sheathed in the ground earlier and let a small blue flame dance around it. She looked up at the dragon and nodded.

"You know what, Saphira? You're right. Andrea and I can't let something like this stop us." Ashlee offered her hand to her friend. "Andrea, care to join me?"

Saphira hummed as Andrea grabbed Ashlee's hand and Frost appeared in her hand. Saphira made a surprised snort and looked at the weapon.

_A Keyblade? Andrea! You wield the Keyblade too? _Saphira asked.

Andrea looked up at Saphira and smiled.

"Yes I do, and now, if you don't mind. There are three boys and one tomboy whose asses I must kick."

She and Ashlee stood to the side and watched the steadily tiring four people spar. Eragon and Murtagh were expertly fighting side by side and were easily taking down Tom. Jasmine put up a stronger resistance. Because Tom couldn't use magic in his fight, he used the stone axe. Since it was made of sand, it was a lot looser and took much more strength to keep in tact. Finally, he gave up and let the grains of sand fall back to the desert ground. He sat down on a nearby dune and watched Jasmine furiously fight off the two warriors.

Jasmine ducked and parried the aimed attacks by the two fighters. She tried to retreat so she could throw the chakram, but they were too close to her and their attacks were too relentless for her to do anything but defend. She cried out in frustration and tightly gripped the chakram. She ducked and swerved, did a sweep kick that knocked over Eragon and punched Murtagh in the chest with the dulled chakram.

Eragon groaned and stood up, Za'roc held ready for the second round. The winded Murtagh sat down next to Tom, holding his aching chest.

"It's a damn good thing Eragon dulled our weapons, isn't it? Or else I would have lost two lungs and a heart." He said to Tom

Tom nodded.

"Yeah, it is. That doesn't seem too pleasant."

Murtagh and Tom watched Andrea and Ashlee walk up to Jasmine and Eragon.

"Mind if we join in guys? Our weapons are already dulled. I kinda learned how by listening to Eragon. It was kind of weird; it was like I saw the magic flow from you to dull the weapon. I didn't know the words to use, so I read your lips when you dulled Jasmine's chakram." Ashlee said, smiling sweetly.

Andrea looked at her in surprise.

"Wait, you can read lips? How come?"

Ashlee smiled at her friend and said, "I had to learn since my adoptive mother is mute. I wonder if she's okay."

Ashlee squealed and jumped away from a fireball Jasmine shot at her.

"What the hell was that about?" She cried.

Jasmine glared at her and said, "In a fight, you don't go all dreamy-eyed. That is how you die."

Ashlee smiled.

"Fine… GRAVITY!"

A purple-black dome surrounded Jasmine and made her feel extremely heavy. She bent down on one knee, and Ashlee was in front of her, sword pointed at her forehead.

"Dead."

Jasmine smiled, her face pointed at the ground. She pulled her head away quickly, and shot out her legs, sweep-kicking Ashlee in one fluid movement.

Jasmine stood up.

"Another thing: Never let your guard down."

Eragon and Andrea stood there, watching Jasmine and Ashlee fight with jaws agape.

He turned to Andrea, and she him. Both weapons ready. Eragon lowered his arms and sword. He looked kindly at her and said, "Listen, Andrea. I don't hit girls."

Andrea smiled at the chivalry of the Dragon Rider, and said, "Fine, this will make things easier for me."

She ran across the sandy ground, kicking up a cloud of dust and jumped in the air, bringing Frost down on Eragon's head. There was a sharp _crack_ and he fell over, groaning.

Andrea and Jasmine faced each other. Both of them grinning, and Ashlee and Eragon joined the other losers.

They circled each other, hoping to find an opening. Andrea dropped her guard for a second on purpose and Jasmine took the bait. Jasmine dived at Andrea, who sidestepped and Jasmine landed right beside her. She spun around; letting the chakram move more like a blunt weapon, and aimed an attack for Andrea's head. A wall of ice appeared before Andrea's head and the chakram connected, making the barrier shatter, but the stalling gave Andrea enough time to resume her attack.

She did a spin kick to Jasmine's back. Jasmine moved her chakram in the way to parry the blow, and used her free hand to grab Andrea's leg. She grabbed the leg and began a roll, once she got far enough into it, she released Andrea and she was flung away. She landed against a wall of ice and jumped off of it, flying straight at Jasmine.

Jasmine did a log roll to the right and stood up as Andrea collided with the sand, making it shoot up everywhere. Jasmine jumped away from the settling cloud of dust. She was determined not to be hit by a sneak attack. She threw her blazing chakram into the cloud of dust and heard Andrea cry out as the attack connected.

Tom jumped up and glared at Jasmine. She returned his gaze and he flinched as a mental probe touched his mind.

_If this were a real fight Tom, would you give the enemy an opportunity to attack, or formulate another plan?_

Tom sat down, but still glared at Jasmine. _When did she learn how to do that?_

The cloud of dust vanished, and Andrea was gone. Jasmine jumped as a metal that was as cold as ice touched the back of her neck and sand twined up her body.

Behind her were Andrea and Tom. Jasmine looked at where Tom was sitting before and was surprised to see that he had moved behind her so quickly. With a sigh, she dismissed her weapon and said, "Fine, you guys win. It is great that you had to team up in order to beat me, though. And I was tired after fighting Murtagh, Eragon and Ashlee! You guys need to practice more."

Saphira hummed contentedly and looked at Eragon.

_I like her. She's almost like a human me._

_Yeah, she is a bit rough. Isn't she?_

After they cooled down a bit, they went to sleep, and Jasmine took the first watch.

* * *

Kevin woke up with the strong sunbeams of the summer sun hitting him straight in the eyes.

"Ouch, that really, really hurts." He grumbled sleepily, and turned over to face the window, the sun was nearly out of the window's range.

"Holy crap! It's late! I missed breakfast two hours ago!" He yelled.

He jumped out of bed and quickly pulled on his new leather trousers and green tunic. He ran down the stairs to the main entrance hall, still struggling to pull his arms through the holes in the shirt.

He arrived in the entrance hall; Xunahs was standing against a marble pillar. When he saw Kevin, he stretched out his arms and yawned.

"It took you long enough. I thought I was going to have to start training without you. 'Father' wants us to train with the leader of the Dark Hand. His personal assassination unit. He will teach us how to fight and maybe give us some help with assassination. Like I need that sort of thing."

A knife flew down at Xunahs, who caught it in between his middle fingers. He sighed.

"He has been trying to get me all morning."

He watched Kevin stand in the spot a knife was being flung at. He was totally oblivious to it. When the knife came close, Kevin madly whipped his hands around to make a wave of water engulf the knife and threw it against the wall behind him.

"Can we start training already, or do we have to dodge a bunch of throwing knives?" He cried at the rafters.

A rope dropped down from the ceiling and a man that had black and grey hair set in a ponytail, and an eye patch over one eye dropped down along it. On his black shirted chest was a bandolier with nine pouches, each holding several knives. He landed on the ground without a noise, and walked up to Kevin and Xunahs, shaking both of their hands.

"My name is Jon, and I will be your instructor. With me, you will be learning how to fend for yourself, even without a weapon. I will also teach you some basic assassination. If you have any questions, that is too bad."

Xunahs harrumphed and looked away. Jon glared at him and looked at Kevin.

"So, the two sons of our mighty king, Galbatorix are my two new students. One is blissfully arrogant, and the other is a bookworm. Life is just perfect. Now stop standing around like wallflowers and move out to the courtyard. I will be teaching you hand-to-hand combat first."

They walked out to the courtyard and faced Jon.

"Now, I want you to face each other, and get into a good fighting stance."

Kevin got into his forward stance that he always used during sparring matches in karate and Xunahs stood lax, like he didn't care at all. Jon smirked at Xunahs and looked at Kevin.

_Interesting stance. It appears to be steady, and it leaves the person using it open to many possibilities._

"Go!" He yelled.

Kevin brought his left foot, which was behind him forward and used it to propel himself off the ground. He landed in front of Xunahs and did an elbow strike to Xunahs' gut. He swerved behind the winded Xunahs and kicked at the insides of his knees. Xunahs fell to the ground and groaned. Xunahs did a barrel roll to the left and jumped to his feet. He lunged at Kevin, who sidestepped and grabbed his leg. With a mighty yell, he spun around and flung Xunahs away.

Xunahs landed with a heavy thud and stood up again. He glared at Kevin.

"The winner is Kevin." Jon said.

_Great, another person I can't beat. This time, he's just a human too!_ Xunahs thought bitterly.

They still didn't know about the other's true identities.

"Now then, I want to see you fight each other with weapons. Perhaps Xunahs will do better in this fight." Jon said. He loved that the cocky child was getting his ass handed to him.

The green sword appeared in Xunahs' hand, and Vortex in Kevin's.

Xunahs jumped back in shock and cried, "Wait! The Keyblade? How the hell do you have that?"

Kevin looked back at him with surprise.

"Uh, I don't know… I've had it for about a week now… Maybe more. Are we going to spar or what?"

Jon looked at Kevin with interest.

_I wonder if Galbatorix knew about this?_

_I do now, Jon. _Galbatorix said in his mind

He flinched and watched as the two 'brothers' collided. Sparks flew off of Vortex and a mist seemed to pool around the green sword. They unlocked their blades and swung at each other fiercely. Kevin parried the assault made by Xunahs. Surprisingly, for a huge sword being held by such a slight person. He wasn't doing so badly.

Kevin got struck in the arm and he cried out in pain as a cut appeared on his arm. Xunahs dropped his sword and cried, "Oh crap!" and ran to him with a vial of blue-white liquid. He hastily poured it into Kevin's mouth and he swallowed it.

"That was the anti-venom for the poison from the sword. It would be good if you didn't use that arm for the day." He said.

Jon came over to Kevin and helped him up. He looked at Xunahs with admiration.

"Xunahs, taking care of your allies is a big priority on the battlefield. Good job on your reaction time. Kevin, I am disappointed, you will be taking your magic training alone with the twins. Good luck. You're going to need it."

"Where are they, Sir?" Kevin asked.

"They are in the north garden. They are very intrigued by your form of magic."

Kevin nodded and weakly walked off. Jon returned his attention to Xunahs.

"As for you, you are going to be trained in the assassin arts. Are you ready?"

Xunahs looked up at him and nodded. "I was born ready."

Jon laughed and clapped his back, "That is the attitude I want to see!"

Kevin walked around the corner of the wall and was standing in the north garden. He scanned the area for two people, but saw none. He flinched as mental probes entered his mind and he felt as if his thoughts were being sorted.

_Get out of my head damnit!_ Kevin cried at the invaders.

_But why? You are only Galbatorix' son, there is nothing special about you. Just let us see your thoughts._ One of the two entities in his head said. Its voice had a soothing effect to it.

_Ashlee, Ashlee, Ashlee. _He repeated over and over in his head.

Soon the probes faded away.

_Drat, the only things we can find now are memories of a young girl. What a feeble barrier. If we had to try, it would have been dismantled easily._

The bushes at the end of the garden rustled and Kevin shot four balls of lightning at it. The air around him seemed to thrum and the attack faded from existence. Two balls of fire flew through the air at him and he waved his hands to make the water in the ground and plants strike the fire. They both exploded in a ball of steam and two stout men walked out of the bushed. Both were bald and were sneering.

Kevin approached them and looked at their eyes. He could tell he wouldn't like them already.

"Tell us Kevin, how do you make such amazing magic appear and show no sign of weakness? Tell us your secrets." One of the twins said, his voice was smooth, and made the idea seem like a brilliant plan that should be followed through.

He glared at the twins.

"So, what will I be doing for training? This is my practice section. Not your own little magic stealing trick. If you want to do that, go somewhere else. Find a nice mountain to go to or something."

He quickly entered their mind and made a supportive thought, making the idea seem brilliant and the twins looked at each other and dismissed Kevin. He entered their minds and found a memory at the front of their minds that enraged him.

He pulled the tendril of thought out of their minds and glared at them.

"You two are monsters!" He roared. Vortex appeared in his hand and an explosion of lightning issued from the Keyblade with a thunderclap.

_Those two are vile. They must be punished!_ He roared in his mind, luckily his voice of reason kicked in. _No Kevin, don't. If you can't keep yourself from killing them, send them away. Use a portal._

Kevin opened a portal and stopped glaring. His fists and body were shaking massively.

"Leave my sight now. Enter that portal and make sure I never see your faces again." He said, he looked like he was going to fall over.

They looked at each other, and grinned at Kevin.

The twin to the left bowed. "Of course young master. I will see to it that we leave your sight immediately. I will not dilly dally any longer." His voice was sickeningly calm and smooth.

Kevin couldn't take it any longer. He launched tendrils of thought into the mind of the twin that spoke and completely shattered any barriers he may have put up. Kevin couldn't tell if there had been any barriers or not. He ripped through his mind and memories viciously. Leaving nothing untouched. When he finished, the man was on the ground, writhing in pain,

His brother picked him up and glared at Kevin, who stared at him with a blank expression, and that was all the nudging the magician needed to flee.

When the portal closed, Kevin turned around and he was staring at the calm and collected eyes of Shruikan, Galbatorix' black dragon.

_Impressive, young one. You have single-handedly defeated the top magician that serves under Galbatorix. And you did it ruthlessly. Since you have no one to train you, we both believe you should read the books in your room for your own lessons._ The giant dragon beat down its wings and flew up into the air, to the large den in the castle that dragons were supposed to sleep in before their near-extinction.

Kevin nodded at the departing dragon and walked into the castle and to his room. He opened "Language of the Elves" and read the first chapter on searching spells.

After several hours of studying, Kevin re-read the paragraph on the draumr kopa spell (Dream Stare)

"The spell requires a reflective surface and a target person, place or thing in mind. It is impossible to scry something that you have never seen." He read out loud.

_The group, what is happening to them, Eragon and that unconscious elf, Arya?_

He had their images in mind and he looked at the bowl of water in front of him. He focused on the image and said, "Draumr kopa."

As the book said it would, the water in the bowl fogged over, and the milky fog filled Kevin's whole view. Soon, colours in the swirling mist appeared and began to split and combine to make different shapes and colours. Soon, he was seeing Ashlee standing guard in the late night, watching for enemies or threats as the others slept. A giant, slowly moving shadow was curled up behind Eragon, and at random intervals, a tail would flick out and swat at the air. He changed his view to Andrea. She was hiding behind a dune, making out with Tom. Kevin gagged. He looked over at Jasmine, and she seemed to be snogging someone in a dream of hers.

* * *

Ashlee looked around the camp. She couldn't shake this feeling that she was being watched. She even did a small prayer because she was that scared after meeting Durza. Yet somehow, at the back of her mind, she knew it was Kevin. That thought filled her with dread. She looked at her watch that Rose gave her, which was still working amazingly well. She woke Eragon up and they traded spots. She put her head against Saphira's warm underbelly and slept.

* * *

Venxik stood at the top of the Altar of Naught, looking at each of the other Heartless. He spread apart his arms.

"Fellow Heartless, we have done it. We have purged Nobodys from the castle and from the parts of the city that surround it! Three of their leaders were destroyed and one of our own was destroyed. Xunahs will be sorely missed."

Axdrane sobbed and Raynx glared unblinkingly at his leader. Most of the other Heartless looked uncaring.

Venxik continued, "Even though we have lost one of our own. We have gained two more! Allow me to introduce our two newest additions to our dark family: Rould and Halixat!"

Two figures appeared out of nowhere and stood next to Venxik. One was a tall man; he had an ear piercing and wore a grey cloak that covered his body, from head to toe. A young girl stood on the opposite side of Venxik. She was wearing a pair of shorts and a tube top, both were black and the rest of her exposed skin was lightly tanned. Both new Heartless bowed and the others murmured.

"With that, let us begin our siege on the human worlds!" Venxik cried.

The other Heartless bellowed, "End the light and nothingness. Only darkness will prevail!" in reply and they left.

* * *

Axdrane stomped down the halls to Raynx' living quarters. Her lips and fists were quivering. She kicked open the door and walked in on Raynx, Maxjisne and Xochitl speaking to each other. She approached him and spoke with fierce determination.

"I know what you guys are doing. You are planning on overthrowing Venxik. I am helping you, no questions asked."

* * *

Author's Note: And so! This concludes chapter twenty and the first half of this fanfiction (or maybe third, there are roughly three worlds left). The next chapter will have a delay to make it fit the mood, and will probably be excruciatingly big. Things are starting to boil down, Raynx' group of mutinous Heartless is getting larger, Kevin has shown a very interesting side, and Ashlee and Jasmine appear to be well in tune with the magic in the worlds.

Jon: No, he isn't Xigbar. He is the head of Galbatorix' own personal assassination organization, the Dark Hand. His character was based off of John Rainbird, from Firestarter (by Stephen King). He was an amazing villain, but he had to die, and he did. So, he lives on as an expert assassin.

Shruikan(Shrew-ken): Galbatorix' personal dragon. He belonged to another rider, but was corrupted by the king's evil magic years after Galbatorix' original partner was killed.

Halixat (Halizat): Tahlia's Heartless. She prefers to use more assassin-like attacks, and uses her ability to meld with the shadows well in order to use her abilities.

Twins: Galbatorix' lead magicians. They are evil and cunning people that will torture anyone that goes against their will, except Galbatorix.


	21. Meeting

Author's Note: No comment. I am probably going to start author's noting on the bottom of the chapter. I am weak! Forgive me! 5067 words!

SkyLandOcean: Thankers for the review! And yeah, I would do anything to have a library for a room. It would be sexy.

* * *

Chapter Twenty-One: Meeting

He sat up in his bed and shifted himself so his legs dangled over the side of the bed. Lately he had been more and more enthusiastic about waking up in the morning, the reason: He had flying lessons.

He put on his clothes and went to the washroom. He dipped the razorblade in the heated water basin, which he used magic to heat. A brisingr spell was easy for him to pull off now. He slid the blade along his cheeks and down his chin, and finally, his upper lip. He removed the remaining hairs with a spell and splashed his face with the warm water.

He looked at his reflection the hung mirror provided to make sure he didn't miss any spots. He didn't. His face was tan and there was a small scar along his right cheek from a sparring accident he received from his instructor. His blue eyes were soft, but at the same time, scanning for any detail. During his training, he never let anything slip by his attention.

He was also very fit; he had the build of someone you would have expected to be a star swimmer, with just a bit more muscle mass on his arms. He left the washroom, after inspecting his clean-shaven face and looked at his large closet. Inside was an egg shaped, metal object that had two leather loops connected to it. He put it over his sparring clothes and he walked up to his window and threw open the shutters. He climbed up onto the ledge of the window, and launched himself out and over the one hundred foot drop.

He closed his eyes and felt the air move around him.

_Come on come on. You need to do it, or else you go splat. _

He spread out his arms and two leather wings with a metallic skeleton burst out of his pack. He pushed his arms behind him as if he were doing a breaststroke and felt the wind push him, making him move into a glide. Experimentally, he spun around, and moved as smooth as usual. He glided around in a huge circle and slowly made his descent. His feet touched the ground and a tendril of thought touched his mind.

_Good, you are ready, I assume._

* * *

Ashlee awoke with the desert sun beating on her forehead; the rest of her was covered with a really thin sheet she bought at one of the nearby villages. It had been eight months since she and Kevin had been separated. Give or take a few weeks. She had grown at least two inches, and she would be sixteen in a few days. She was wearing a pair of leather trousers and a tunic, as everyone else in the group had been wearing. She put a star onto the shoulder of her tunic using some of the sewing material Rose had given her. Andrea was in the same shape as she was, and was only four inches shorter; Andrea was about five feet, eight inches. Tom had gone through the most change over the eight months, he had gained four inches, putting him at six feet, three inches and he had gained a lot of muscle tone. He was also much more efficient as a fighter, and could control the sand a lot easier now. Jasmine didn't grow at all, seeing as how she finished when she was fourteen, and now she was seventeen. When she went to buy her clothes, which were intended for men, she beat up the clerk for mocking her on her decision. There was a rumour that he had committed suicide because a woman had beaten him up.

Eragon and Murtagh looked startlingly similar to each other, or at least, Ashlee thought they did. Eragon had grown and was only three inches shorter than Tom. Sometimes, Ashlee would shyly sneak a peak at Eragon, and would often beat herself up because she knew Kevin was still out there somewhere, and he was waiting for her, too. She had been learning the Ancient Language with Eragon, because she felt that it would be needed if she wanted to find Kevin after this whole Galbatorix ordeal was over. She looked at Saphira, who was very large now. She would have been easily as big as a one-story house if you counted her neck and head. Arya, the elf was still unconscious and her condition was worsening, and according to Eragon's directions, they wouldn't be able to reach the Varden, their destination for another three days, and Arya's life was coming close to its end.

She pulled out a mirror from her back pocket and looked at it and concentrated

_I want to see Kevin; I want to know if he's okay. _"Draumr kopa."

A foggy-white mist spread over the glass and began to fill her whole plane of view. Two shapes formed in the mirror, one was plainly Kevin, his skin was tanned and his hair had some blond in it. He was also around six feet, four inches by the looks of it, and the other was someone that she had a vague feeling of seeing before. It was a teen that was Kevin's age; he had lightly tanned skin and jet-black hair. Ashlee would have said it was Xunahs, but that wouldn't be possible because Xunahs had green hair and was with Venxik. The mirror-Kevin smiled and laughed at a joke the other teen made, and said something. Ashlee couldn't get everything he said, but she did see his lips say "brother."

She gasped and dropped the mirror in the sand and the spell was broken instantly. She lifted the mirror up and Jasmine was behind her, looking worried.

"Ashlee, you were scrying Kevin, weren't you? You finally got the balls to do it and you saw something bad, didn't you?" She asked. Ashlee nodded and said, "Yeah, he was with another male, who he called 'brother.' Maybe I should ask Andrea if he had a brother."

She did just that and Andrea said, "Nope, Kevin only had a sister, who died three years ago."

Andrea looked at her friend and saw the concern in her gaze.

"Why Ashlee, why do you ask? Is it something about Kevin?" She asked.

Ashlee sat down next to her and explained what she saw in the mirror.

* * *

V Report.

_Our plans are starting to come to fruition. Over the past eight months, we have conquered many worlds and destroyed most of them. We have found powerful allies as well as dangerous enemies, who are currently being taken out systematically. As expected, our army has grown in size massively. If we go to a world and try to get them to serve us, they will. If the people of that world deny my request, I destroy them without a thought; it's a very useful system for weeding out the enemies. Once my enemies are destroyed, I will destroy my allies as well, because I have no doubt they plan on fighting back, what with prophecies and all. I am happy to say that I have found a youth on one of the worlds with a substantial amount of darkness in his heart. I am also disappointed to see that Xunahs has not made his return to us. What if he decided he liked that world and wished to stay there? He was built differently than most Heartless; he seems to have a level of sentimental thought, as Leashex and myself do. Such a Heartless would be an amazing asset for us, but he has two drawbacks, one: He is weak, two: He doesn't want to harm others. I have not bothered to check up on him recently, instead I have sent Shadows and sometimes Air Soldiers to spy on him, and especially his training sessions. Each time, they come back with the same upsetting news. Xunahs is paired up with a wielder of the Keyblade, and it is none other than my own Nobody, Kevin. What makes this even more upsetting is that Kevin is making startling progress in his magical and physical abilities. Also, I am beginning to lose my trust in Galbatorix. He seems to be using Kevin and Xunahs, making them stronger so he can use them to conquer his world. If he does that, he may want to spread out and conquer other worlds. Granted that as a human, Kevin never wanted to harm people, and he was never easily manipulated, but this is Galbatorix, a man that can speak a powerful language that makes others bend to his will, and even if he speaks in plain English, he is still very convincing. I have a feeling that Galbatorix may be planning to fight against me and take the throne at the top of the universe. Lately, some of my own Heartless: Raynx, Xochitl, Maxjisne, Axdrane and Ansem especially have been more and more quiet. I am beginning to think that my enemies are surrounding me, and I don't have much time left before they rise up to strike me down._

* * *

"Yes Shruikan-Elda, I am ready." Kevin said, bowing. He folded in his wings and looked back up at the black dragon.

Shruikan snorted and flew up into the air. He looked down at Kevin.

_Okay, Kevin-Finiarel let us go over what I told you the previous day. How do we get ourselves into the air?_

_For a dragon, it is simply a matter of jumping off the ground and using his or her wings to stabilize him or herself. As for a human that can control the wind, such as myself, it would mean jumping into the air, much like a dragon would, and then making the air currents hold me up. If it were possible to make these wings move, I could fly as flawlessly as any dragon._

Shruikan nodded. _Good job, Kevin-Finiarel. I see you choose to remember what you are taught, unlike your brother, Xunahs. It does seem odd that I would be teaching you how to fly. It seems almost as if I were teaching a dragon hatchling to fly. I never had such a privilege. Now join me in the air. We are going to fly around the city of Uru'Baen twice, then come back here to do aerial combat._

Kevin jumped in the air and was at level with Shruikan.

_How high do you want me to be, Shruikan-Elda?_

Shruikan looked up at the tallest tower, and back at Kevin.

_You are to start at that level, and you are not allowed to lower yourself more than ten feet._

Kevin nodded and smiled. He flew up around the tower, up in a spiral. After five minutes, he stood at the top of the tower. He took in a breath of the warm air and looked at the city with a large smile. He threw himself over the edge of the tower and made the air hold him up. He held himself steady and did a few practice rolls to make sure he was able to stay afloat. Contented, he flew to the eastern border of the city, not once losing or gaining altitude. One the first few lessons, the people of Uru'Baen were completely and utterly terrified. When Galbatorix explained that it was his son who was learning how to fly by using magic, the people became quiet and watched him soar through the air with awe.

_Shruikan-Elda, would you like me to practice speed as well, or would you just like me to make sure I can maintain this level?_

_If you want to Kevin, you may do the first lap as a test to see if you can maintain the same level, and then you may do the second lap as fast as you please, but still maintaining the same level, of course._

Kevin nodded, _Okay._

He folded his arms to his sides and made his body straight as an arrow, using his feet to steer himself like a dragon or bird would use its tail, he flew around the city's thirty kilometre border in half an hour, just so he could stay level, constantly making sure that he was level had distracted him, and he nearly collided with a bird at one point. On his second run, he gave it his all and moved around the thirty-kilometre border in only five minutes, keeping the same altitude. He landed in the courtyard next to Shruikan and was panting heavily.

_Dear God, I never thought I would be able to move that fast, I am totally drained!_ Kevin thought. He moved into the shade of the nearby tree and collapsed again.

Shruikan looked at his student and bared his teeth in a smile. _Rest, you deserve it, that was the most amazing flying I have ever seen, even from a young dragon that would as young as you._

_Thank you._ Kevin fell asleep.

* * *

Xunahs looked at the group of soldiers surrounding him. Jon had told Xunahs that if he were to be in a war zone, many men would surround him, maybe even dozens of them. He would have to constantly be ready and at the top of his game if he wanted to survive. He dulled his blade, as did the new leading magician for each of the soldiers. He nodded and the others nodded.

They all held their swords ready. Xunahs had gotten himself a new sword around five months ago. The one he had before was too big and unruly, the one he had now was smaller, but still as deadly.

The soldiers all ran at him, making battle cries. Xunahs jumped above their heads and came back down on one of the soldier's heads, bringing down his sword upon his back, the man fell over, faking death as he should. Xunahs kicked at the head of the soldier standing next to him, and 'impaled' the one on his opposite side. A soldier came up behind him, getting ready to bring down his dulled blade upon Xunahs' head. Xunahs ducked and smashed the man's sword away. He did an axe kick that connected with the man's shoulder. (An axe kick is when the person raises their leg above their target, which is usually a shoulder, and brings it down as hard as they can. It hurts, I know that much, and of course, how to do one. So fun.)

There were four soldiers left now. Each of them grinning and Xunahs sighed.

"Are you guys seriously thinking you can take me? Did you just see what I did to those other eight? If you really want me to go all out, I don't mind. It will just be you that will look like idiots for taking on a foe you couldn't dream of beating. That's all."

One of the soldiers laughed.

"What a great way for a prince to talk. It astounds me that you aren't disciplined by your father for having such a cocky attitude." The others laughed.

They ran at him, and Xunahs sighed. He lifted himself off the ground using some dark magic and swerved around the line of guards. He brought his sword along each of their backs and they groaned and turned around. If his weapon wasn't dulled, they all would have died with blood bursting from their backs.

He sheathed his swords and the soldiers that had fallen stood up again and looked at him with a mix of pride and annoyance. After saying their goodbyes, they left and Jon came, beaming with pride.

"Amazing show, Xunahs! I am beginning to worry that you may even be able to defeat me! You had every right to be cocky; yet, it is still a foolish thing to be overconfident. For now, I am going to dismiss you. Galbatorix, Shruikan and myself have discussed it, and for the rest of the day, you and Kevin get to wander the city."

Xunahs looked up at his teacher with wide eyes and Jon chuckled. Xunahs had met a young girl in the city two months ago, and he fell in love, and he fell _hard_.

Kevin walked up to him and clasped his shoulder. He looked worn out, and he had several cuts along his arms and face. "Ready to go out to the town yet, brother?"

"Uh yeah, what about your face?" Xunahs asked.

Kevin laughed. "Oh yeah, I can't do that, do you mind using waise heill on me, brother?"

Xunahs sighed and did. After that, they both opened portals and entered their respective rooms and got changed out of their sparring clothes.

* * *

Half an hour later, after they were dressed and bathed, they were outside the castle gates and wandering the streets. The first place Xunahs wanted to go was the family run pub, which was where the girl he liked was. Kevin sighed and followed him through the winding streets. People were beginning to get into their homes, seeing as how it was getting late and the less likeable people would be wandering the streets. One group of girls they walked by were gossiping and one looked at them, pointed and the others looked, turned back their heads and giggled madly.

_I will take the big boy; the others can be content with the small fry._ One of the girls, a blonde thought, Kevin smirked and continued walking.

Kevin and Xunahs walked around the next corner and the pub was in sight. Three boys came out from behind a closed shop stall and pushed them against a wall, daggers at their throats.

"Give us your money now, and you will be able to see tomorrow's rising sun." One of them said, he had his dagger at Kevin's throat and pressed it so that some blood began to trickle down it.

Kevin's face didn't change at all. He quickly scanned the teen's mind, and the others that were "mugging" them. They were going to kill them, or at least try, even if they were given money. Kevin smiled and pulled out the bladed glove he used for aerial combat with Shruikan and jabbed it at his assailants arm. He howled in pain and dropped Kevin, who nonchalantly kicked him in the stomach and did another kick that connected with the side of his head. Kevin healed his own wound and he looked at the other two teens, face completely calm. They dropped Xunahs, picked up their fallen leader and ran away. Kevin used Thunder and electrocuted them.

They continued walking down the street to the pub, and entered. The owner of the bar, the girl's mother was crying at one of the tables, a letter in her hand. She looked up at Kevin and Xunahs with a dark glare and they flinched. She stood up and approached the brothers. Each step was forced and made the ground tremble slightly. When she was close enough to Xunahs, she spat in his face. Xunahs was six feet tall, and the woman could stand up to him and be seeing eye-to-eye she was a tall woman. And was amazingly violent

"You royal bastard! How dare you show your face here after what your father has done!" She shrieked, and forced the letter in Xunahs' face. He pulled it away and read out loud.

"Miss Nannette, I am pleased to inform you that your daughter has been showing signs of magical abilities. We have taken her so that she may hone her skills for the upcoming war against the Varden. She will of course, not be going with us for the planned battle that will be taking place this week, but she will be needed in the future. You should be very proud of what she is doing for her people.

Signed, Galbatorix."

Nannette shrieked, not letting Kevin or Xunahs speak and pushed them out. When the door was shut and locked, they left for the castle. Xunahs wanted to talk to his "father".

* * *

"The Ugrals are getting too close!" Eragon cried, he was now on Saphira's back, and Tom had Murtagh on a pile of sand. The four of them were planning on making it the rest of the way to the Varden so they could get Arya saved. She was getting pale and cold. She was nearing her death.

Eragon, Saphira, Murtagh, Tom and an unconscious Arya sped off through the forest that was nestled in between two gigantic mountains, and Ashlee, Andrea and Jasmine ran behind them. If need be, they would stay behind and fight off the approaching Ugrals. They were still a cloud of sand, but they were picking up speed and there was well over a hundred of them approaching. It was like an organized invasion, which was completely unlike the brutish monsters.

After an hour of running, Ashlee looked into her mirror and saw Tom and Murtagh on a lakeshore with a huge waterfall roaring on one of its banks. Eragon and Saphira were coming back, large rocks in hand, and the Ugrals were so close that their war horns could be heard. Ashlee opened a portal and the three of them walked through it and plopped down next to Murtagh and Tom. Andrea, Ashlee, Jasmine and Tom were all breathless from the energy they exerted and Murtagh was standing and ready for any surprise attacks that may be made by the Ugrals.

_Get up! They're on their way! _Eragon cried.

Ashlee, Andrea and Tom struggled to their feet and Jasmine was still lying on the ground.

"Too… Lethargic… To move…"

Andrea looked down at Jasmine and frowned. She raised Frost in the air, and then swiftly pointed it at Jasmine in an arc and she said, "Cure." Green light washed over Jasmine. She sighed and glared at Andrea, "Y'know, I really didn't mind lying down and getting clubbed to death by a bunch of stinking monsters, but you just _had_ to cure me, didn't you?"

Andrea sighed and looked away. Ashlee, Tom and Murtagh were next to her. They watched Eragon and Saphira fly into the opening and watched a horde of Ugrals run out of the opening, close behind them. Murtagh looked at the approaching monsters with a worried expression.

"Those… Those are kull! They are the most powerful of the Ugrals! A group of fifty of them too! Holy hell! Eragon, you had better be right about where to go."

Saphira and Eragon landed on the shore that the others were standing on and Eragon began furiously pounding on the wall. Murtagh grabbed his arm and turned him around so that he was facing the opposing group of kull.

"Eragon, why are the kull not moving?"

A tendril of thought touched each of their minds and a voice came through strong and clear.

_I am the reason they won't move._

A strange, six-foot long thing with wings flew down from one of the hills and circled around the lake that was in the centre of the clearing. When it got close enough, it glided out to the centre of the lake and landed softly. Its wings closed in and the shape was now clearly human. The clouds that blocked out the moonlight were pushed away and the area was illuminated, and Ashlee, Andrea and Tom gasped.

The wings burst open again and the figure streaked through the night air at the group. It punched at Andrea with a bladed glove as it flew by and it swung around to make its return. This time, it flew at Eragon, who parried the attack with Za'roc and pushed the thing back, it landed on the lake and it closed its wings again.

Ashlee was now terrified. She tried touching the thing's mind and found nothing; it had an amazing barrier thrown up that she just simply couldn't break through. She looked at Andrea and said, "Can you protect me? I want to see something."

Andrea understood right away and stood in front of Ashlee with Frost out and ready. Ashlee looked at the mirror she held with her.

_Please oh please. Don't be Kevin_. "Draumr kopa."

The mirror became misted over and she saw the lakeshore. Standing on it was the person that was attacking them. Kevin had finally been reunited with the group and he was fighting them. Ashlee screamed and dropped the mirror. It shattered and everyone looked at her.

Andrea was the first to recover, "It's Kevin, isn't it?" Ashlee nodded and Andrea glared at him. Frost became encased in ice, and Andrea threw it at Kevin.

"Blizzard Raid!"

Kevin raised his hand and a wall of water rose up with it. The attack was blocked and a tendril of water threw the Keyblade away. He ran across the lake surface and jumped in the air, Vortex was summoned and crackling with electricity. He was falling towards Andrea, who summoned back Frost and brought it up to block the attack. Kevin opened his wings and a huge gust of wind blew Andrea back. He landed and looked at Andrea. She returned his stare and they didn't look away, there was a mental conversation between the two.

After what felt like ages, Kevin dismissed Vortex and fell onto his knees. He looked at them and said, "I can't believe it. You guys are okay."

Jasmine growled and picked Kevin up by the scruff of his tunic. She glared at him and said, "You little son of a bitch. You piss me off so much! Why do you get to fly?"

Kevin chuckled and pushed Jasmine off. His eyes widened as he realized he stopped stopping the kull from attacking. He looked over at them and saw the leaders holding bows, taking aim at them. He paled.

"HOLY CRAP! RUN DAMNIT!"

The others were too tired to run, and he had plenty of energy because all he did was glide across the desert (it was fun) and do some minor spells and attacks that he practiced when fighting Xunahs. He stood up and watched the approaching wave of arrows. He regained his composure and waved his hand, a gust blew away the black arrows and the pinged harmlessly on the mountain wall. He looked over at Eragon and said, "Figure out a way to get in. Maybe you can get Tom to find a hollow in the rock walls." He summoned Vortex.

"As for me, I am going to stall them." A hand grasped his shoulder and he saw Ashlee, her sword ablaze. She smiled and said, "Not without me, you aren't" He nodded and they both ran along the opposite sides of the bank to meet the group of kull that could only stand on the shore single-file.

Kevin was the first to reach them. He ran up and impaled one through the chest, and shot a lightning bolt with Vortex that exploded and electrocuted four others until they died. He jumped over the bodies with ease and opened his wings, gliding above their heads and splitting open their skulls with Vortex. He landed in the middle of a group of them and used Thundara, killing them all instantly. He jumped back into the air to avoid the clubs, and he saw even more approaching from the forest.

He swore and threw Vortex down, and an explosion of energy was made, destroying even more. It came back to his hand and he glided back to where he started. He couldn't allow any more to get by while Eragon and Tom were finding the entrance. He heard Tom swore and he cried into Kevin's mind, The waterfall! The entrance is in the waterfall!

Kevin nodded and flew over to it, and parted the water as best as he could. The others swam through to the other side and were pulled in. Kevin watched as several men popped up around the hills and fired arrows down at the kull. Kevin assisted them by firing balls of lightning. Men rushed out from the place the others ran into and charged at the approaching kull. There were roars and war cries as the two sides combated. Kevin wished he could help, but he was too tired from fighting the kull in the first place. He swung under the waterfall and let it return to its natural flow. He glided into the entrance of the cave and landed.

* * *

Author's Note: Just in case none of you have picked up on this: There was an eight month time skip in between chapters twenty and twenty one. This is my longest and most condensed version of any chapter yet. It would have probably been able to be double the size if I could afford such a thing. If you want an extended version to replace this chapter, tell me that in my review, and if I get enough reviews requesting such a thing, that is perfectly okay as well. I deeply and humbly apologize to any fellow Inheritance (the name of the Eragon series) fans out there for the screwed up chronology of this, it just worked better for me. As for you logical bastards that are thinking about Arya and her near-death state being maintained for eight months, I have a piece of advice: STFU… Please.

Second Note: It was hard figuring out how Kevin would be able to utilize his wind element to fly. So, I decided to make his "father" order the creation of a device that held artificial wings and could be used at any time. Right now, Kevin may seem a wee bit godly, but I plan on fixing that. After all, he did train with the most powerful man in Alagaesia.


	22. Ajihad

Chapter Twenty-Two: Ajihad

Kevin landed on the uneven ground within the cave behind the waterfall and a stone behind him dropped down with a ground-shaking thud. He closed his wings and made a small ball of lightning to illuminate the room. He almost lost the light as he saw dozens of men and dwarves surrounding him and his friends, all had their crossbows trained on them. A majority of them were aimed at Kevin. He tried to scan their minds and hit iron-hard walls and quickly withdrew to avoid a trigger-happy shower of war bolts.

One of the men, probably the leader of the group of men said shakily, "Dismiss your magic and sit down. The Varden's magicians will be here to scan your minds in a minute."

Kevin did as he was told and the cavern went black again. Eragon was fuming; Kevin could even hear the teen grinding his teeth together. He entered Eragon's mind and asked, _What's wrong?_

Eragon growled mentally and replied, _It's Arya, the elf. These people don't want to treat her. We need to be judged first. She is about to die most likely and we can't do anything about it._

Kevin sighed and broke the connection. He stood up again, drawing the full attention of the crossbow-wielding archers. One of them was about to tell him to get back down when someone in the darkness said, "Come now, and don't kill our esteemed guests. Do you not see that one of them is a Dragon Rider?"

Something twanged in Kevin's mind and the voice entered and said in a sickeningly smooth voice, _Time for my revenge, whelp._

* * *

Xunahs stood before Galbatorix, rubbing his eyes. The king had called him for some bad news. It was currently midnight, and Xunahs had spent most of the day training vigorously for the war Galbatorix had planned. He was exhausted.

Galbatorix stood up and looked down at Xunahs, his expression was grim. He cleared his throat and spoke, "Xunahs. As you may or may not know, your brother, Kevin was sent on a scouting mission to the Varden and he was supposed to estimate their military strength. That is what he does best. All throughout his scouting mission, I had a mental connection with him. I heard him yell something about the kull and being surrounded. Within moments, the connection broke. I felt him die Xunahs he was viciously murdered by their barbaric forces. I am sorry Xunahs about your brother. He was a great asset to our kingdom, as you are."

Xunahs bowed his head. He wasn't sure what to feel. He was a Heartless after all; he shouldn't have cared; yet for some reason, he had this feeling of sorrow well up inside him. It was like he wanted to cry or lash out, but he just didn't find it possible.

He looked up, a fire in his eyes.

"What do you want me to do, Galbatorix?" He asked.

Galbatorix laughed and walked to Xunahs, he held his hand out and said, "All I want you to do Xunahs, is learn my secrets and use them to avenge your brother's death."

Xunahs nodded and grinned, showing his pointed teeth for the first time since becoming a Heartless.

"Okay, I will."

* * *

Tahlia looked at the other two Nobodys, literally bouncing on the spot. She had disappeared an hour earlier and reappeared, wearing a black trench coat that had red clouds on it at random locations. She called it her Akatsuki uniform. Ryan had smacked her across the back of her head on several occasions, often saying "Baka" or just saying stupid in plain English. Shaun stared at her smitten, and Tahlia bounced… Without end.

They left the mansion and entered the streets of Twilight Town. Ryan was staying as far back as possible, and Tahlia was sighing alongside Xunahs on their twilit stroll. They walked past a group of kids that were bashing each other's heads with blue struggle bats. The kid in the blue beanie had his ass handed to him by the other kid that had spiked blonde hair and Shaun grinned.

They walked up a flight of stairs, and Tahlia turned to face the older brother, somewhat annoyed. She shouted, "Come on you sluggish bastard! Keep up the pace!" Ryan grumbled something and turned around.

They walked up to the train station terminal and bumped into a man that was wearing an odd coat, it was opened at the chest, exposing his dark tanned skin and the Heartless symbol. His hair was silver and long, and Tahlia and Shaun jumped back, weapons ready.

"Holy shit, it's Ansem!" Tahlia cried, kunai appeared in her hands and began to crackle with electricity.

Ansem looked down at them and laughed.

"Well, well, if it isn't one of the assassin brothers and the ninja sister! The two most annoying brats I ever had to deal with during my rein."

Tahlia glared at the man and spat at his feet (she spits far, shut up). "You are an awful liar, Xehanort. I read the Ansem Reports that Sora uncovered, the ones made by Ansem the Wise. You were his lowly apprentice, always living in his shadow, nothing more."

Ansem laughed at the young Nobody, still holding his superior stance and said, "How could I, the Lord of Shadows live in the darkness of some old fool?"

Shaun laughed this time. He pointed his gun at Ansem, "Yeah, Ansem. If you haven't noticed, Venxik has way more darkness than you could ever hope for. I met him once, and he was terrifying. Nobodys aren't supposed to feel terror, so you know how big of a thing that is."

Ansem floated off the ground, and his guardian appeared behind him.

"Insolent brats, I will teach you the consequences of disrespecting your master."

Guardian teleported away from Ansem and in front of Tahlia, and picked her up by the throat and began to crush her windpipe. Shaun glared at the attacking Heartless and fired bullets at it, nothing happened. He looked at Ansem, and he had his hand out in the same stranglehold as the Guardian did. He fired at Ansem, and Guardian disappeared and reappeared to deflect the bullets. This time, it and Ansem charged at him.

He jumped to the side and fired bullets at Ansem, once again the attack was intercepted and the two came back to try and run him down again.

Tahlia looked at the two Heartless and an idea suddenly came to her mind. _That thing can't block two attacks from different angles! I can throw kunai while Shaun shoots!_

She did just that as Ansem came back for a return attack. Both her kunai and Shaun's bullets connected and the Heartless stopped. Guardian disappeared and Ansem said, "Fine, I have gathered all the information I will need." He left through a portal and Shaun and Tahlia stood there, slightly dumbfounded.

"Time to report to Ryan, Shaun?"

"Yeah, time to report to Ryan."

* * *

The teen stood alone in the desert, the sand whipped through his messy long hair. He was wearing a black robe. He pulled up the black hood when his head was becoming too hot and he sighed as it cooled.

_I really have to hand it to Vexen for making a uniform that regulates temperature. If it weren't for his idea, I would currently be a puddle._

The large mountains were in sight and the teen grinned. "I am finally getting close to a place outside of this desert."

He closed his eyes and pictured what it might be like in between those two mountains. Thick forest was what came to mind. He focused on that and made a portal. He had the details correct, except for the bodies that littered the forest floor.

* * *

The man walked out from the shadows and Kevin's defeated look turned into an infuriated scowl. The twins had returned.

Immediately the mental connection returned. _Revenge will be mine, whelp. Do not bother attacking my brother or me either. These men are trained to kill the very first person that acts as an unfriendly._

Kevin sighed, annoyed and the twin bowed at the guests as if nothing happened.

"As you are about to find out, the only way for you to pass is for us to inspect your memories and for us to say if you are worthy or not. If you decline our offer, you are to be sent to prison immediately." He looked at Kevin, an eyebrow raised, and he said, "No, I would rather not have my mind invaded by such _filth_. I will wait for my friends to finish before I am escorted to jail, however."

The twin smiled. "Very well. Young lady, you will be first." He was looking at Ashlee and sweat began pouring down Kevin's neck.

Ashlee screamed out in anguish as the twin viciously ripped through her mind, with much more ferocity than Kevin did when he attacked the twin eight months ago. She was on the floor, screaming, holding her head in a vice-like grip, and the twin wouldn't stop. He only grinned and pushed harder with his mind.

Everyone was upset, even Jasmine was unnerved by Ashlee's torment. Kevin had enough. He looked at the twin, tears forming in his eyes. He dropped to his hands and knees, gripping the cold cave floor as hard as he could.

"Please, please stop doing that to her. Just stop it."

The twin merely laughed and gave another forceful push. Ashlee's screams ceased and she fell limp. Kevin looked up and was attacked by the twin in the same way. All of his thoughts and memories were brutally ripped apart. He cried out in agony. He tried to fight back, but the twin countered any effort by pushing harder. Finally it was stopped when Jasmine punched him in the face, causing his nose to break.

She glowered at the man, who was cursing, holding his bloody nose. He sent a tendril of thought at her to assault her, but only found an iron wall. Flames danced around her hands and she stepped up to the man and picked him up by the throat.

"Don't you ever do that to my friends again, you little piece of shit, or else you will be answering to me."

Silence greeted those words. He tried to fight back against her, but only met Saphira's and Eragon's glares, as well as Tom and Andrea ready for an attack. He gulped and gave in. She put him down, not before kicking him where it counted. Hard.

The man was lying on the ground, groaning and the lead archer came up to Jasmine. He was nervous, but he was able to hide it well enough. "I would say that you have all passed this inspection. I will take you to Ajihad. As for your injured friends, I will have a stretcher brought for them."

The twin was escorted to his horse, and he gingerly sat on its back. He glared at Jasmine and was going to try another mental attack at Kevin. The fiery glare Jasmine sent back was enough to deter him. Eragon was on Saphira's back and in the lead. She walked through the cave halls and soon they were in a large city. There were people all around the underground streets. They stopped to look at them. Eragon stared back and waved his hand sheepishly. A roaring applause met his action.

After half an hour or so of walking through the city, they approached large gates and the lead archer jumped off of his horse and landed gracefully. He helped Eragon off of Saphira, and got Jasmine, Andrea and Tom off of their horses. Kevin was beginning to sit up in his own stretcher, but Ashlee was still on hers, pale and drenched in a cold sweat, like she was in a soundless nightmare.

Eragon, Tom, Jasmine and Andrea entered the room beyond the gates, and Saphira was only able to fit in her head. The four sat down in a chair at the table. A man that was finely dressed and had greying hair sat opposite of them. He stood up and shook each of their hands.

"Welcome to the Varden, Eragon, Tom, Andrea, Jasmine, Saphira. I understand that you did not take your inspections. I will allow that to slide, however because of the unprovoked attack the twin made. What he did was unforgivable and will result in punishment. Are Kevin and Ashlee alright?"

_Kevin is alright; Ashlee is acting as if she were in a horrid nightmare. I tried to enter her mind, but something forced me out. _Saphira said to the man.

He nodded at her. "Thank you Saphira. Allow me to introduce myself: I am Ajihad, the overseer of the Varden, in many ways; I am their unofficial king. I wish to speak to Murtagh now, if you don't mind."

Murtagh entered and exited twenty minutes later, with soldiers escorting him to the prison. At the same time as Murtagh was leaving, a woman came to Ashlee, who was still unconscious and in her nightmarish state and took her to the hospital. The twin entered, was yelled at and he exited, looking flustered. He also had chains and was being dragged to the dungeon. Kevin entered as the last in the group and sat before Ajihad.

Ajihad sighed and rapped his knuckles on the edge of his desk. He brought his hands up and made a bridge for his chin and leaned forwards.

"Kevin, I know who and what you are. As well as Andrea, Ashlee, Jasmine and Tom. You five are Nobodys. You and Andrea both wield the Keyblade. Kevin, I do have my doubts about you, however, because I know of your position."

Kevin was astonished by what the man said, "H-how do you know?"

Ajihad smiled and explained.

"Kevin, I have spies within the castle walls of Galbatorix. They told me of two princes that had amazing powers and abilities. When they described the younger prince of the two, that prince being you, I remembered a conversation I had with another king once. He told me of this young man that held a weapon that fit the description of the one that you used. He also said you were righteous and smart. So I want an explanation from you."

Kevin sighed and started to talk, "King Mickey, I can guarantee that. Yeah, I am that Kevin. An Ugral abducted me eight months ago when I was alone. I was originally supposed to be a slave, but when I attacked him using magic, he decided that I was worth taking to the prison, where Durza would judge me. I arrived unconscious, after I touched his arm. I still remember those horrifying images that flooded my mind. I met Eragon in the jail cell I was placed in. Together we were able to keep the drugs out of our food and plot an escape. Two nights after Eragon and I met, Murtagh and my friends invaded the prison. Durza took me to his private office, where Ashlee, Jasmine and Andrea came to rescue me. They were easily outmatched and when we were separated again, Galbatorix came. An hour later, I wound up at the castle and became his son. While I was unofficially adopted, he made it seem that I was biological, just like my 'brother' was. I went into training the next day, and my whole eight month time span in that castle was pretty much only that. On several occasions, Galbatorix offered to teach me his secrets, but I refused each time. After a while, I learned that I could harness wind magic. Upon hearing this, Galbatorix ordered the creation of artificial wings," At that, Kevin opened and closed his wings. "so I could glide. I am pretty sure he was planning to use me to conquer this world. He knows that I am a Nobody, and he probably knows humans are weaker than your average Nobody. He finally came to me, only yesterday and explained that there were kull surrounding the Beor Mountains and I was supposed to check it out. I found their trail quickly and kept a safe distance behind them. When they entered the clearing with the lake and waterfall, something came over me and I told them to stop. They did. I landed on the lake and I attacked the group of people there because something once again, came over me. When I realized who they were. I stopped and I broke down, and whatever it was that was making me hold back the kull and attack my friends left. Making the kull become wild again. I got Jasmine, Andrea and Tom to help Eragon search for the entrance while Ashlee and I tried to hold back the kull. That didn't go so well. Eragon found the entrance and we entered, and I assume you can fill in the events from there."

He took in a deep breath and chugged the glass of water Ajihad handed him. Ajihad removed his chin from the hand-bridge and looked at Kevin. Pondering something. After several minutes of them staring at each other eye-to-eye, Ajihad stood up and held his hand out to Kevin.

"Kevin, I have decided that I will allow you to be safe within the Varden. King Mickey had high hopes for you, and I know that what you told me was the truth. You are a trusted member of the Varden now."

Kevin bowed deeply and left, stumbling lightly. The effects of the mental assault hadn't quite worn off yet. Saphira, Eragon, Andrea, Tom and Jasmine were waiting outside for him. They all watched him, waiting for a reaction of some sort. Some news about what's happening. Two guards walked out of the room, shortly after Kevin did. They were holding shackles and were grim faced. Kevin slumped down his head and the others were in shock. They stopped gawking when the guards walked past Kevin and past them. Kevin looked up and grinned.

"There was a drunken guy a few floors up that was screaming random gibberish about the ones with evil hearts coming to doom us all." He said. "Since I overheard Ajihad explain that to his guards, I decided to screw around with your heads. I am really an honorary member of the Varden now. I am probably some sort of super weapon for the Varden or something, but I think I can be contented with that as long as I don't get killed and I get stronger so I can take down Venxik and save our worlds that have been lost. I want nothing more than to see those palm trees move in the ocean breeze again. To see my mother's face. To be able to royally kick Sora's and Riku's asses."

Andrea giggled at the Sora and Riku comment, and the others just looked at him with general confusion. Kevin grinned and Orik, the dwarf that was told by Ajihad to escort them (that being his only duty now due to him losing any influence he may have had before.)

(A/N: Dear God! I am so sorry for not giving Orik a role; actually, he will be cut out for the most part. Sorry)

They followed Orik up several flights of stairs and found themselves in a massive open-ceiling cave that had several smaller caves at different holes in the walls. In the centre was a giant sapphire. Orik explained that it was the greatest treasure to the dwarves and meant everything to their people.

Tom looked at it with amazement he touched it with his palm and tried to see if he could find any faults in it with his magic, to see how many gems made it up. He drew his hand and gasped. It was one, whole sapphire.

The others, Kevin and Saphira excluded were marvelling at the gemstone. Kevin and Saphira looked around the cave in awe. He turned to the dragon and smiled.

_I am so glad I won't be trapped in those small tunnels all the time. This place is so big! I could actually fly around here!_

Saphira pulled her lips back in a toothy smile. Kevin had seen Shruikan do it rarely.

_It is amazing, little one. I would have never expected there to be a cavern as large as this in the mountains. I also like how it goes up and out of the mountain as well. How well can you fly, Kevin?_

Kevin grinned at her and replied, _Very well, and much faster than you could ever fly._

Saphira snorted and lifted herself off the ground. _I doubt you will, little one._

_At dawn, we will meet here. I will beat your tail, and to make things more interesting, the loser has to do whatever the winner wants for the whole day!_ Kevin declared.

Saphira, with her pride on the line, growled and said, _Deal._

* * *

Author's Note: BAWL. Short chapter… I dun like having them. Even though probably 14 chapters back, this would have seemed godly in size. I see it as small –spit- It's funny how I keep coming up with a norm for chapter size. It is always based on words now. Currently, my norm is 4000 words. I was happy that Mr. Previous Chapter was 5000, but hey, that big of a number as a norm can wait. Things are beginning to unfold nicely for this world, and I am not sure whether or not it is reaching its conclusion. This world is ten chapters in length. So it may or may not be time to move elsewhere. There will be four chapters left for this world at the least. Guaranteed.

* * *

As a request by a friend of mine, I will do a character bio for Kevin and co. after the timeskip.

Kevin: Currently sixteen. He is the leader of the group as well as the protagonist for this story. His sense of what is right and wrong is strong as always and he now has the ability of entering people's minds and reading their thoughts, which will come in handy. During the time skip, Kevin trained under Galbatorix and Shruikan. His abilities with water magic are so polished that he can easily walk across water and summon several tendrils of water to defend and attack. He also has learned how to control the wind, allowing him to fly by using special mechanical wings Galbatorix had ordered to be built for Kevin. The training has toughened him up and made him more mature. He still has a bright outlook on life that won't be lost, however and he still strives to return Destiny Islands back to its more alive state.

Andrea: Currently sixteen. Over the time skip, she didn't change at all. The only thing that changed about her was the increase in feelings she felt for Tom. Her fighting abilities are only matched by Jasmine and she prefers to use her Keyblade rather than her magic.

Ashlee: Currently sixteen. Ashlee has grown magically aware. She knows how to speak, read and understand the Ancient Language as well as use the spells that they hide. On top of that, she is able to enter minds and defend from mental attacks. She waited those eight months for Kevin, knowing he was going to make his return.

Jasmine: Currently seventeen. She acted as the replacement leader for Kevin while he was gone. Only Andrea matches her fighting skills, and she still remains silent and uncaring for the most part, except for when her friends are in trouble.

Tom: Currently fifteen. He has grown stronger as well. He can hold sand up and together for a longer period of time, but still prefers to use solid stone when he gets the chance. He preferred not spar with his friends much, but still proved to be a valiant fighter when there was danger. Jasmine speculates he fights so hard only to impress Andrea.

Ajihad: The person that oversees the Varden. He isn't their king per se, but he acts as one. He is a kind and understanding man. He knows exactly what people are thinking or how to make them cheer up.

Second Note: Shut up. It is above my normal 4000 words now –angry fist shake-


	23. The Race

Chapter 23: The Race

Kevin woke up the next morning in his small cave-apartment. The girls and boys of the Nobodys had been split up and put into separate rooms. Kevin and Tom slept in one room, Andrea and Jasmine slept in the one opposite. The entire level they were on was uninhabited by the other people of the Varden, Ajihad told them to live their so they could have their privacy and train in secret.

Kevin got dressed, picked up his metal pack and walked out of the apartment and into the cave hall. A cat walked steadily past Kevin and Eragon followed close behind. Eragon walked past him. Kevin opened his mouth to ask what the heck he was doing, but Eragon answered before he asked.

"Following cat. Shut up and follow."

Kevin did so and followed Eragon. The cat walked into a room with its door slightly ajar. The room smelled almost like a botanists shop for tropical plants and herbs. Even from where Kevin was, the scent was strong. They walked into the shop and Eragon gasped.

"Angela! How did you get here?"

Angela looked up from her book and stared at Eragon with an aloof gaze. "I work for the Varden. Why are you here, Eragon? Who is this friend of yours?"

Kevin was about to introduce himself, but Angela stopped him. "I don't care. Unless if you have proof that toads don't really exist, than I don't care."

_Was I just rejected by a loony?_ Kevin thought. Angela entered his thoughts and replied smugly, _That you were._

Kevin smirked. "You know what, I exist far less than toads do. After all, I am a—"

"Nobody? I know. Did Mansex drill that in your skull? Stupid emo bastard."

Kevin looked shocked. "How did you know about Xemnas?"

"How did you know his secret nickname?"

"It seemed pretty obvious."

"Just as it did when he entered my shop so he could take my heart. Any more brilliant questions?"

"Yeah, sure. What makes you think toads don't exist, and if they don't, then what the hell is that wart-covered frog in that jar?"

Angela smiled. "That, my boy, is a toad."

Kevin gripped at his hair, his mouth opening and closing in exasperation. "You just said they don't exist!"

For the next half hour, Angela lectured Kevin on the existence that toads lacked and told him to get his facts straight before he started screaming at random women. He walked out of the room in a daze. Eragon looked at him and grinned.

"So Kevin, what do you think about Angela?"

Kevin smirked. "I think, I have without a doubt, found God."

Eragon chuckled and said, "Want to go to the hospital? I wanted to check up on Arya, I am sure you would like to see Ashlee."

Kevin shook his head, "No, I have to keep my word to Saphira and kick her ass in that race that we will be doing soon. So, I am off to the dragon keep. See you later."

Eragon grinned. "Yeah, she told me about that. Personally, I would like to see her lose. She could use some humility."

Kevin grinned and said his good-byes. He walked up to the dragon cave to find Saphira.

* * *

Axdrane sighed and slumped herself against a sandstone wall in the desert city of Agrabah. Even with the light dress, the sun was hot on her. She looked up at the blue-white sky and thought for the hundredth time this week, _Xunahs, where are you? I want to see you again. Please come home soon._

She stood up and sighed. She had to leave alone such trivial things for the time being. For now, she had to get to the sultan of Agrabah. Sadly enough, she wasn't allowed to enter the palace without a male escort. Her only hope of getting to the fat old man was to cause a ruckus so that she could be dragged to him. If need be she would kick and scream just so the guards didn't wind up throwing her in jail.

She walked up to a stall where there were ripe apples on sale. The sun seemed to only intensify their juiciness, or Axdrane's amazing thirst. She couldn't quite tell. She picked up an apple nonchalantly, making sure the tanned vendor saw her doing so. He waved the machete in his hand as a warning. She smirked at the man, a cheeky smirk that would enrage anyone. She took a bite.

The man was infuriated. He raised the machete with his left hand and grabbed her hand that she used to take the apple with his right hand. He put her arm on the counter and glared at the Heartless. "Girl, do you know what the punishment is for theft?" He hissed. "It's the removal of your hand!"

The machete came down in an arc and Axdrane grabbed it with her free hand. She squeezed her hand and the steel crumpled under her grasp. She looked at the man with cold eyes. "I think you should learn your place in this world. Surrender your heart to the darkness and join us."

The man's eyes clouded over and he fell to the ground and disappeared. Axdrane smirked and waited. The guard would be there to apprehend her momentarily. When no one came to arrest her. She screamed in fury and stomped up to the palace. She blasted open the doors and walked up the stairs that lead to the grand hall. She approached a fat old man sitting in the chair. His clothes were poofy and designed well. Her lips curled into a smile. So, this was the sultan of Agrabah.

She stood at a respectful distance from the king and curtsied.

"Excuse me sir. I was wondering something, would you like to surrender this world to the darkness and avoid your inevitable doom?"

The man looked confused for a moment. He quickly snapped out of his confusion and frowned. "Sorry miss. I will have to deny your request. I am also sorry to inform you that you will not be able to destroy this wondrous city. Even Jafar tried his best, and he did not succeed."

Axdrane laughed at the sultan's words. "Who, exactly stopped Jafar from taking over this world?"

The sultan smiled sweetly, "Why, a dashing young lad named Sora. He was a very big help."

Axdrane stared at him, a grin on her face. The grin grew and grew until she fell over. Howling with laughter.

"Sora? Sora saved you guys? Sorry to tell you, but he's dead! Anyways, since you declined… Bye-bye."

She turned around and walked into the streets. She snapped her fingers and dozens of Soldier, Air Soldier and Darkball Heartless surrounded her.

"Go out, and take all the hearts you can. Don't spare anyone, and if you find the keyhole, report to me." She said.

They made their movements to show they understood and spread out. She sat down in a shop stall and grinned as she heard the citizens of Agrabah scream in terror as the Heartless invaded their homes. An hour later, the cries ceased and two Darkballs came to her to report. A scimitar sliced clean through the two of them and they disappeared in an explosion of darkness. A lone teen stood where they were, holding the sword in his hands.

His hair was black and short. He wore a purple vest that was above his belly and opened so that his chest was exposed. He wore the hideous white puffy pants that Axdrane hated with a passion. She smirked at the young teen and said, "So, you must be Aladdin. Sora has told me a lot about you. I came to steal your heart and plunge this world into darkness. Nothing personal."

Aladdin looked confused. "Wait a sec, you know Sora? If he told you about me, then why are you trying to take over this world?" He dodged a swing by her bladed gauntlet. "You should be helping us take care of the Heartless!"

Axdrane disappeared and he felt cold steel rest against the back of his neck. Axdrane grinned at him and said, "The reason, Aladdin, is that I am a Heartless. Now then, say goodbye to your heart."

She made a wave of darkness come out of her glove and wash over Aladdin. He cried out in pain and he fell to the ground, and disappeared. Axdrane summoned several more Darkballs and some Neoshadows. She walked out of the world through a portal. It was going to be a wasteland within the hour.

* * *

Maxjisne saluted at Venxik's orders and went to Raynx so she could get her cloaking done so she would blend in with the inhabitants of the world Venxik had chosen for her. She walked down the halls so that she was in the labs. Raynx had spent most of his time down there with Rould. They were building something and no one was going to be told until it was unveiled.

She walked up to Raynx and said, "Illusion, make me an animal. Quadruped please."

Raynx grinned and turned around. Maxjisne felt herself compress and she got onto her hands and knees. She felt her lower leg disappeared and her backside lower itself so her back was straight. She crawled through a portal she made and wound up in a tropical rainforest. She went to the nearest pool of water and looked at her reflection. Her lips curled into a fanged grin and she said, "Sweet."

She let out a long howl and ran through the jungle. A group of Crimson Jazz and Red Nocturne Heartless followed her and stole the heart of any creature that was foolish enough to get close to them. Soon Maxjisne was standing in a massive clearing, most of the ground was barren, but there were patches of lush grass in some areas. Across this massive field was a large rock, it didn't seem to be naturally formed, but solely animals inhabited this world, how could animals craft something of that scale?

She turned around to face the Heartless and she let out a low growl, "Go out and destroy any animals that you encounter. Leave the king to me. I will claim his heart and you will find the keyhole. I will take the heart of this world. Then, we will leave."

The Heartless all flew out over her canine head and soared towards the rocky outcropping. A lion roared and ran across the field, straight at Maxjisne. She jumped out of reach of its claws and saw the red mane that surrounded its head. She landed and grinned at the lion.

"So then, you must be Simba. I have come to take your heart. Nothing personal."

He glared. "How can you take my heart? You aren't even a Heartless. Just what kind of animal are you?"

Flames erupted from the ground around them, enclosing them in a ring of fire. "I am a wolf. A canine, also; I am a Heartless. You may call me Maxjisne. Now then, don't struggle too much, I want this to go by quickly."

She howled and ran at the lion.

* * *

Kevin spread open his wings and grinned at Saphira. _So then, I think that we should do four laps of the cave, fly up through the top, do another four of the top, fly out to the tree line, and come back. First one to touch the giant sapphire wins._

_I find the route to be okay. I assume you have flown this route, than?_

_Yeah, I did last night, around midnight. I guess you would have too, or you would have said something._

_That I did._

Kevin crouched like he would if he was getting ready to dive into a pool to swim competitively (which he did when he had a heart). Saphira crouched, getting ready to spring into the air.

Andrea stood groggily at the entrance to the cave; Jasmine, Tom, Eragon and hundreds of people, men and dwarves alike were spread throughout the cave, getting ready to watch the show between man and dragon.

"Three!"

"Two!"

"One!"

"Go!"

Saphira made a loud bellow and flew straight up. Kevin dived forwards and made the air pull him up. He pressed his arms against his sides and flew as fast as he could. He shot like a dart, but Saphira was still too far ahead of him. He grinned and brought his hands up in front of him. He brought them together and used his magic to make a thunderclap. Saphira stumbled in her flight, giving Kevin the edge he needed.

He tucked his wings in to do a barrel roll and then burst them open again, letting sparks fall from them and harmlessly into the crowd below. Saphira entered his thoughts and snorted.

_You little goof!_

Kevin grinned and made his body flat so he could move faster.

He did the first lap in roughly thirty seconds. He pushed harder and finished the other three in a minute. Just as Saphira finished her fourth lap, Kevin flew up vertically to the top of the mountain. He broke through and was overcome by the cold air and lack of oxygen.

I am going to have to make this quick. He thought, slowing his breathing so he wouldn't take in too much at once and wind up breathing in nothingness. He pressed the wind as hard as he possibly could and did the four laps, exerting the same force as he had done when he flew around the city of Uru'Baen. He finished the four laps in roughly three minutes and dropped fifty feet so that the air had more oxygen in it and barrelled towards the tree line. A shadow fell over him and went to the trees, turned around and headed back to the mountain.

It was Saphira.

"CRAP!" Was all Kevin could yell. He lost his concentration on the path and did not see the tree moving up to him at a fast pace. (Cliché my ass! It ain't a cliché until I say it is!)

He connected to the tree with a dull thud and fell through its branches. He landed on the grass below and heard two loud snaps, one from his ankle, and the other in his right arm. He groaned slightly, and fell unconscious.

* * *

Maxjisne stood on top of the fallen king. She looked down. "I feel bad having to kill my inferior. So, I won't. I will make you become a Heartless." She dismissed the illusion and stood as a human-shaped Heartless again. She held Moon Blade ready and brought it down. Simba and the rest of the world vanished into the dark abyss.

* * *

"Well Kevin, you are still weak. How do you expect to bring back Destiny Islands? You can't even survive an encounter with a tree. You are pathetic. I am ashamed to be related. You are lucky I don't destroy you while you are down and out."

Kevin's eyes snapped open and he stood up sluggishly. Vortex appeared in his hands and he looked around. He wasn't in the forest anymore. He was on the stained glass platform he and Andrea were both on when they obtained their Keyblades. He looked around the platform. Trying to find the source of the voice. It was odd, he felt completely alone, yet, and he felt like there was someone with him. Someone so close that their hand was on their shoulder!

He turned around and did a jump mid-spin and shot a ball of lightning. It didn't hit anything; it just flew away and faded from existence. There was a loud laugh that resounded throughout the area and Kevin turned around to see darkness twining up the sides of the navy blue platform. The darkness moved on to the platform and gathered in one spot. It twisted and rose until it was roughly six feet high. It began to get decisive human body parts. A black shirt and black pants both with a pale blue line running down the sides suddenly became visible on the figure, and then the head came. It was a pale, evil version of Kevin's own head. Darkness exploded from the thing's hand and a long, jagged sword appeared in it. A blue line ran down the middle of the blade, like it did on its wielder's clothes.

He grinned at Kevin and held the sinister sword in one hand like it was nothing.

"So, Kevin. I guess you are wondering who I am. I think you just need to think. Remember the Silver Prince's castle? Do you have an idea of who I am now?"

Kevin glared at his Heartless. "It's pretty hard to forget a face, Venxik."

Venxik laughed and smiled, "Well, if you can defeat me, maybe I will be purged from your memory."

Sinister looking wings burst from the Heartless' back and he jumped to get into the air. Kevin tried to do the same, but his metal pack was gone. He was wearing the same blue t-shirt and jeans that he was wearing the day he lost his heart.

_What the hell is this?_

"Aww, can't the Nobody fly on his own? Does he want help? Because, I can help." Venxik said, laughing. He stretched out his left arm and opened his hand. Kevin became winded as he felt something grasp his body. He was lifted off of the ground by some invisible force, and then slammed back down into it. The glass shattered, and he began to fall. The shards of glass froze in midair; Kevin immediately knew what was coming next. He tucked his legs into his chest, and brought up his arms to guard his face. The sharp shards of glass streaked through the darkness at him.

Venxik grunted as some force pushed back the glass. If he tried to get the glass into Kevin harder, the force would push back with just enough intensity to make him unable to push further in. Inside the glass coffin Venxik's barrage had caused, Kevin was trying his absolute hardest to push them back, if Venxik pushed any harder, Kevin would be skewered.

The magical struggle was boring Venxik. "Time to end this. Still pathetic." He closed his hand into a tight fist, and the glass shards collapsed in on themselves. Venxik made an annoyed grin, "I tried too hard there. I shattered the damn glass."

He spun Interfecit in an arc, and a black blade shot down where Kevin was. It passed through the air, but didn't hit anything. There was a loud crackle of electricity, and a big flash of light.

There was another flash of light, and a large bolt of lightning came down on his head. He felt the metal of Vortex press against and pass through his gut. Kevin appeared behind Venxik, seemingly from nowhere and he grinned. "Who's pathetic now?"

The top half of Venxik turned around and grinned. The expression seemed demonic. "You still are. I am your memory of Venxik from when I was first released. If that is your best, the real Venxik has nothing to worry about."

Venxik faded away and Kevin floated there in the darkness. The platform came back and he touched down on it. He felt an unfamiliar weight in his left hand. He looked down at it and gasped. "Two Keyblades?"

* * *

Raynx sighed and looked around the room. So far, Maxjisne and Axdrane finished their jobs with relative ease. He found it odd that Venxik was only choosing the Heartless that were with Raynx rather than the ones that sided with Venxik. Did Venxik know and he was trying to eliminate them? Raynx sneered at Xemnas' journal. "If Venxik is really going to try and destroy us, he is going to have to try much harder."

Xochitl walked by Raynx and shrugged. "He wants me to go to Atlantica. Because I have even mild control over water, I will be able to survive long enough to claim this weapon that is with the king. I think it was Poseidon's trident. If it is, there is no way in hell I am letting Venxik get that. He is strong enough as it is, he doesn't need a weapon of the gods."

She walked through a portal and left. Raynx sighed. If Xochitl was really going to be going up against King Triton, she would need to be lucky, because of the trident, he was a demi-god of sorts. Ansem and Halixat were less active with the activities of the other Heartless. They were loyal to Raynx for the most part, but he had his doubts. He believed Ansem was looking out for himself, and Halixat just didn't care. Rould was also confusing. He just seemed to appear and disappear at random. He also seemed to dislike Xochitl a lot, almost to the point of hating her. Xunahs still hasn't come back, but he sent messages to Raynx. Apparently, he will be leading an army of monsters to attack the people of the world he is training on. Apparently, he was working side by side the wielder of the Keyblade, the kid died though, leaving Xunahs to be the only "son" of the king.

Leashex entered the room and walked to Raynx. She gave him a piece of paper and left without saying a word. He read the paper. It was a letter from Venxik, with a photo of his destination. Raynx stood up, grinned and walked through the portal he made, the destination based off of the place in the photo.

* * *

Author's Note: Ouch. Dude with machete got owned. Ouch. Maxjisne owned Simba as a wolf. Ouch. Kevin got owned by a tree. Ouch, Venxik got owned by a guy that got owned by a tree. Ouch. It turns out that Venxik was only a memory. Ouch. Raynx has his own world to go to. Ouch. Venxik is getting wise to Raynx' plans. Ouch. No new people to the story. Ouch. I bet you are all annoyed now.

Ooh. Kevin gets a second Keyblade.


	24. Invasion

irestorm Studios: Gah! Ouch. I quoted Goofy. Yeah, the Heartless are finally beginning to act up, Venxik is starting to die down. It will be interesting to see how it ends. (Not even I know how it will end ..)

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Four: Invasion.

Xunahs squat in the tunnel before the army of Ugrals. Most of them were kull. He sighed and looked ahead through the cave. In the darkness, he could see perfectly, unlike humans or Nobodys. Heartless, being creatures of the darkness are not bothered by the pitch-blackness of a cave. However, he had to have torches set up for the kull, who didn't have as good as a night vision as he did.

_So, Galbatorix tells me that Kevin, my adoptive brother was killed. Then, a day later, Raynx pops up and tells me that he is going to send out some Heartless to search for the keyhole to this world. When they find it, they will tell the location to me and I will go to it and steal the heart of this world. I am perfectly okay with that. I didn't care for anyone on this world. Even that girl was a ploy, so people would be more willing to accept me. Kevin however was different. He was like a big brother to me. I don't understand why Galbatorix would tell me to partner up with these stink bags, but for some reason, I am compelled to do just that. Anyways, we should rest. I think that there are problems with the other caves. Durza insists that our two groups are the last to leave, because he knows traps will be set for the first to come._

He stood up and stretched. He looked out over the crow of kull, selected four, and removed their hearts. He turned around to face their destination in this one-way path. Perhaps he would be able to find Kevin's murderer and avenge him. Then, he could take the heart of the world. Something seemed familiar about Kevin, like he, Xunahs, knew someone else that was similar, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"Maybe it's Venxik? Nah. Kevin still has his heart, it would be impossible to explain how Kevin's heart was dominating the universe when he is whole and wielding the weapon that destroys Heartless."

He paced around the rock he was previously sitting on, and took another two random hearts.

* * *

Kevin woke up when he heard a very audible "Ouch!" He let his eyes adjust to the light in the room and looked around to see Andrea, Ashlee, Tom, Jasmine, Eragon and Arya. He looked at Ashlee and Arya and grinned. "Glad to see you two are finally awake." He closed his eyes and laid his head back against his pillow.

"So, I guess what happened back there was a dream. That never happened then?" Everyone looked confusedly at him. Ashlee knelt beside him and said, "Nope, you really crashed into that tree and broke nearly every bone in your body." Arya placed her hand on Ashlee's shoulder. "Ashlee that is not what he meant. Kevin, you are talking about that other person, Venxik. Am I right?"

Kevin nodded. "Yeah, but how did—"

"I entered your mind about five days after your crash. Your breathing became quickened and you seemed to be almost struggling to stay alive. I saw it as a nightmare and entered your mind so I could view it. You were facing a formidable Heartless, Venxik, in that dream. I have met others like him before. Only one though, he presented himself as Ansem. He entered this world two years ago in the hopes of dominating it. The elves were too powerful for him by far, so he fled."

"So you are an elf? That would explain the ears and slender frame." He sighed, which got him a warning glare from both Ashlee and Eragon.

"Aye, I am an elf. As for this dream. I watched this fight; you seemed to be losing. I wasn't sure what to do about your situation. If you were to 'die' in this dream, you would either wake up or pass on to another dream. Yet, while I was there, observing the dream, it felt real. All too real, it was like you were actually fighting for your life and you were truly in danger. I was going to intervene, but a strong light exploded from within you, forcing me out. I returned to reality, looking down at your sleeping form. A nurse that was taking your temperature jumped back and let out a shocked cry. She was electrocuted. The other nurses removed your bed sheets so that they could deal with this new problem. We were all shocked to see you wearing something completely different from your other clothes."

Ashlee and Jasmine both raised an eyebrow.

"What you were wearing was a strange coat. It traveled down the length of your body, obscuring your legs. It was black and yellow. There seemed to be lightning bolts traveling down its length, soundlessly striking random spots on the jacket. Any wounds, such as that scar over your eye or that gash in your cheek that a branch made (I would prefer not to go into details) were instantly healed and replaced with fresh skin. I heard you mutter something about two. Andrea came in, and touched your arm, she pulled it back quickly, saying "Ouch" and then you woke up."

"So, it was a dream?" Kevin asked the elf.

"It was and wasn't. It had nearly the same makeup as a dream, but I have no doubt now that whatever happened to you in there would have happened for real. I would like to take you to the elves in Ellesmera, but you have a large task ahead of you. Far larger than any task any Dragon Rider has ever faced. Angela, Ajihad, King Hrothgar and I have discussed it, and you must leave as soon as you can."

Kevin nodded and smiled at his friends, "So, how has your week been while I was out like a light?"

Ashlee started. "Well, my time was uneventful, for the first four days since we arrived, I have been having nightmares of the day I lost my home replaying over and over in my mind. It was the twins that lead the Heartless, instead of Rould. They were dark and sinister in these dreams. Torturing anyone that got close to them before killing them." She shivered. "It was terrifying. I saw them do the same thing to my mother hundreds of times."

Andrea coughed and looked around the room. She sighed and decided to talk about her time. "Well, Eragon, Jasmine and I were tested by Arya. Jasmine and I were tested with our fighting abilities, and Eragon was tested with both magic and fighting abilities. Fighting with Arya was amazing."

-Flashback-

Andrea stood in a meadow that was reserved for people practicing their fighting capabilities against one another. There was another, smaller area where archers practiced shooting targets. Eragon, Andrea, Jasmine and Arya were standing in the middle. A crowd of men, dwarves and humans alike were standing or squatting around them. Watching with awe. A fight between the three most powerful people at the Varden's disposal and an elf was about to break out. Elves are well known for being superhuman. They have heightened senses, flexibility, speed and strength. Arya drew her sword. Eragon drew Za'roc, Andrea summoned Frost and flame erupted around Jasmine's hand, her chakram appeared.

Arya bowed, the three did the same. She looked at the three and did a flourish with her hand, "Whenever you are ready." Eragon, Jasmine and Andrea fortified their minds and nodded at each other. They each darted to Arya's sides. Eragon ran to the front, Andrea the left and Jasmine, the right. Arya tensed, ready to take the three and quickly twisted as all three dulled weapons came at her. Za'roc caught Jasmine's chakram and was struck down by Frost. Arya grinned at the two young warriors and lightly tapped their heads.

"Dead, dead." Eragon and Andrea groaned and joined the crowd. A loud cheering roar erupted from the crowd as Jasmine and Arya circled each other. Jasmine ran at Arya, who jumped to the side and struck out with her sword. Jasmine blocked it with her chakram and spun around, intent on delivering a kick to Arya's head. The elf blocked it with her arm and threw Jasmine over her shoulder with ease. She landed with a solid _whump_ and tried to jump back up, but was held down by Arya's foot. She held her sword at Jasmine's throat; a smile curved her thin lips.

"Dead."

Jasmine grinned and got up. She shook Arya's hand and joined Eragon and Andrea. Arya looked at the two people that were the first to leave. She sighed and said, "Now. I want to test the two of you alone. Andrea, you can come first."

Andrea nodded and stood up. She walked to Arya, they bowed again and Andrea ran at Arya.

The elf stabbed out with her sword and Andrea knocked it away by striking the flat of the blade with her elbow. She spun around, using the spin to give her momentum and slashed at Arya's side. She had somehow brought her sword up to block the attack. She pushed Andrea off and ran at her. She began to slash wildly at Andrea, while moving and twisting in complex patterns to avoid Andrea's own attacks. Andrea soon became light footed too and was able to do nearly the same as Arya. The way they fought, it was nearly a dance. After another minute of keeping up this dance, Arya jumped back and said, "Enough. I see the myths and rumours about Nobodys are true. I will give up and say you are a worthy swordsman, or swordswoman in your case. Eragon, your turn."

Andrea sat down next to Jasmine, who slapped her back and said, "Holy crap! That was amazing. I am hardly ever amazed by anyone else's fighting, and you were amazing!"

Andrea gave an exhausted sigh and nodded her head. Many of the men behind her were cheering loudly, some patting her on the shoulder, most watching Eragon begin his fight with Arya.

What did Arya mean about the rumours about Nobodys being true? Also, where the hell did I learn to move like that?

Her attention became focused on the clashing of steel on steel as Eragon and Arya fought. Eragon fought with a lot of vigour, but not as much grace as Andrea or Arya did. Arya smacked Za'roc out of Eragon's hand with her own sword and she grinned.

"Well done, Argetlam. You are a worthy fighter. As are you Jasmine. Your fighting style is as fiery as the brightest flame. Andrea, you have the grace of an elf. I am proud of all three of you. But, Andrea and Jasmine, you won't be able to stay it would seem. We know about your duties to the world, and you must fulfil them when it is time."

-End-

Jasmine and Eragon nodded, showing they agreed with the major events of their previous days.

Tom grinned. "Yeah, well. The dwarves probably worship me. They worship the rock as a life force and they take from the mines, praying to their gods and praising them for allowing them to take from the earth. They treat me like royalty because of my ability to move rocks and make them work for me. They say that I am his true descendant. That of course irked some dwarves, because they don't see why a human should have such powers instead of a dwarf."

Arya laughed, Eragon sighed at her laughter and Kevin stared at her dreamily. They were both infatuated by her looks and voice. Ashlee smacked Kevin.

A young boy burst into the hospital and bowed to the others that were in the room. He was panting heavily.

"Ajihad sent me. There are Ugrals, mostly kull in the mines. He wants all of you, to come to him for a meeting. If Kevin is awake, Ajihad wants him too." Kevin was about to get out of bed when he felt a draft travel up his legs. He quickly put his leg back under the cover, face crimson. "Uh, can someone get me my clothes?"

* * *

Venxik stood on the shore of a gargantuan lake. Behind him was a cave; he could feel some strange light energy coming out from it. It was so strong and brilliant that he couldn't get anywhere near it. A strange looking man, who was wearing long robes and a helmet that resembled a chameleon's head walked into the cave, completely ignoring Venxik. There were sounds of a struggle and the entire area looked golden-orange, as if twilight had set in. Strange black flecks began to float upwards from the ground and disappear into the sky. The man came out of the cave and glared at Venxik through his visor.

"So, I see. You aren't an inhabitant of the world of light. I know for a fact that you don't occupy the twilit world. So tell me, who are you and where do you reside?" Two scimitars appeared in the man's hands and Interfecit appeared in Venxik's. The man let out a shocked cry and bent to one knee. "Sir. I am so sorry. I never meant to trifle with the affairs of the king of darkness. My name is Zant, king of the twilight. Please, forgive my foolishness."

Venxik looked confused, but quickly regained his composure. He dismissed Interfecit and waved his hand as if nothing happened. "You are forgiven, Zant. Just be sure that you do not threaten me again. I, Venxik, king of the darkness won't allow it a second time."

A growl escaped from Zant. "You aren't the king! He does not go by that name! Die impostor!"

He charged at Venxik, swinging his scimitars madly. Venxik pushed him back effortlessly and shot a blast of darkness at Zant. The attack hit him straight into the chest and sent him rocketing across the lake. He landed on the surface and sank down. Zant shot through the water at Venxik, and jumped up, spinning around with his swords, looking almost like a miniature tornado. He landed next to Venxik, swords cutting into the ground and rolled at him. Venxik blocked the swords with Interfecit and kicked Zant in the head, denting the helmet. The twilight king landed on his feet gracefully and let out a howl. A black gateway with green rings in it opened in the sky and ten beasts that were black with shields for heads landed on the ground, growling menacingly at Venxik.

He grinned at Zant's reinforcements and waved his hand. Ten Invisible Heartless surrounded him. Zant laughed.

"So, I see I made a mistake with your identity. You rule over the Heartless, not the darkness. You still must suffer for the mistake of confusing yourself with my god."

Zant pointed at Venxik and the Shadow Beasts charged at him. The Invisibles clashed with them and Venxik ran at Zant, holding Interfecit ready to strike. They clashed and Venxik pushed Zant back again, easily gaining the advantage. He did a sweep kick to trip Zant, and he fell on his rear. He held Interfecit above the king's head and was about to bring it down when a hand grabbed the sword and pulled it away gently.

Venxik looked up at the person that grabbed his sword. There was no one there. Venxik looked down at Zant. He was gone. He looked at the Shadow Beasts they were gone too. The Invisibles were just as confused as he was. Venxik opened a portal and left.

* * *

Kevin, now wearing a tunic and leather trousers was in Ajihad's office. An old dwarf that looked like he was the king sat next to him. Arya sat on the other side, Kevin, Andrea, Tom, Jasmine, Eragon, the twins, Murtagh and Erik all sat on the other side of the large table that separated the two parties.

Everyone cast the twins untrusting glances. Ajihad finally spoke.

"Every single person here is a capable fighter, the most the Varden has at its disposal. Galbatorix himself trained Kevin. Our most valued warrior, Arya, has proved Andrea, Jasmine and Eragon of being worthy fighters. And Kevin, the twins, Ashlee and Eragon show amazing magical promise. Tom, you are needed with the initial collapsing of the mines so that we can get the Ugral army right where we want it. After this fight is over, I will help send off Kevin, Andrea, Jasmine, Ashlee and Tom. I know about the responsibilities of the Keybearer and those that follow them in their quest. I would have opted for sending Eragon and Saphira as well, but they are needed here."

They all nodded their agreement.

"Finally, Hrothgar has agreed to have armours forged for you. The twins will not be given any, for they are needed to move around and relay information to others rather than fight."

Kevin looked at Ajihad and said, "With all due respect sir, I don't see how armours could be a necessity, and after all, we are fighting Ugrals. They use clubs that will smash the armour in on the one that is wearing it, making it cave in on the person that got hit."

Ajihad smiled sadly. "That is true Kevin, but it will save you from those glancing blows. Another thing is that there are two humans leading the Ugrals. One is Durza, the Shade and the other is your brother, Xunahs. They will be the biggest threat, so I have selected you, Kevin to take Xunahs and Eragon to take Durza. If they are destroyed, we cripple Galbatorix's forces. I can understand that this will be hard on you Kevin, but you know Xunahs best."

Kevin and Eragon nodded. Everyone stood up and everyone left, Kevin and Eragon taking the lead.

* * *

An hour later, they were all suited up in armour, Kevin stood, waiting for his own armour and a dwarf came up and handed it to him. The dwarf was Orik.

"Here, this was in the back of our treasury. We decided that the Keybearer should be the one to wear it." Orik quickly showed Kevin how to strap it on. He looked at the chest plate and saw a golden Keyblade on it. Everything else about it was average for steel plate armour.

He strapped it down and soon after, everything fell silent. For hours, it was quiet; the darkness of night had set in. Kevin, Andrea, Jasmine, Ashlee and Tom sat together. Kevin grinned at his friends.

"So, finally after eight months, we get back together again. Then, I got knocked out for a week. So, none of you better die. That would seriously suck if you did."

Everyone agreed with a grin, except for Jasmine.

Jasmine glared at Kevin and whispered threateningly, "If you are implying that we could die, I will kick your ass."

Kevin smiled, not saying anything and Jasmine punched his shoulder, the impact making a heavy _thunk _come off of his armour. She rubbed her hand and glared spitefully at Kevin, and Tom sat there, with a gleeful expression and muttered, "And love was forged."

Kevin coughed as if he choked on some spit and gagged, Jasmine just gave Tom a glare. Ashlee's glare however was far more intense. "My one true love isn't here." Jasmine retorted, still glaring. Her face softened and she looked up at the night sky dreamily.

Kevin decided he would try to make the second Keyblade appear in his hand again. He summoned Vortex into his right hand and tried to make a Keyblade materialize in his left. There was a flash of light, and his left hand held a weapon in it. It was Vortex. He looked at his right hand. It was empty.

He groaned and dismissed the Keyblade.

_Oh well, it will be useful if I have to trick the enemy._

* * *

For the next three hours, everyone, the Nobodys included all sat in the field, not a single voice was heard, not a sound made. Finally, a man came out of the tunnels, screaming "The Ugrals! They're here!"

Everyone's heartbeats quickened with anticipation, the Nobodys only looked around nervously, even Jasmine's barrier of not caring about anything was gone and replaced with anxiety.

The man screamed something else. "They have something within their ranks too! Small black creatures!"

Kevin swore and stood up. He winced as the giant cauldrons of boiling grease were tilted over the holes and into the first wave of the brutes. He heard their screeches of pain, but those were soon ceased and a blast of darkness from one of the tunnels shot the boiling oil on the crowd of people closest to the tunnel opening. They didn't burn or scream in agony, they just simply fell and Heartless took their places.

The Ugrals charged out of that cave and ran at the first line of men, who were standing behind sharpened logs used to impale the monsters when they first arrived. The monsters crushed the first line of men by sheer size. The second line was better prepared and put up a fight, killing the Ugrals with relative ease. The men finally began to spread out and weed out the Ugrals while archers took them down from a distance.

The Ugrals were working much in the same way, the formidable gore crows shot from their bows easily cutting through most men and their armour. It was a bloodbath and both sides showed no signs of giving in. Kevin ran to the entrance of the tunnel, easily killing any of the Ugrals that tried to pick him out and saw Xunahs standing there, both toxic green swords in his hands a wide grin on his face.

Xunahs shot a ball of darkness at Kevin, who spun out of the way and continued his dash, with the sword Leon gave him, Storm out and ready. His sword clashed with Xunahs' and the two glared at each other. Xunahs didn't know that it was Kevin he was fighting. He kicked at Kevin, who blocked it with his armoured shin and did a jump, delivering a kick to Xunahs' side with his armoured boot.

Xunahs was temporarily stunned by the attack and Kevin kept up his. He charged at Xunahs, aiming a stab for his chest. Xunahs blocked it and kneed Kevin in the gut. To his dismay, the armour broke and the knee connected with Kevin's stomach. Kevin fell onto the ground. And groaned in pain as the armour dug into his stomach.

He grinned at Xunahs, "I told Ajihad that giving me an armour was a bad idea. It would only slow me down and hurt me more if a hard hit connected with me." Xunahs lifted an eyebrow at the comment. Kevin spoke again, keeping his grin, "One moment please, I need to remove this piece of junk."

The armour fell to the ground; Xunahs' mouth opened into a perfect O and Kevin removed his helmet. He grinned at his Heartless brother. "Yo."

Kevin's smile turned into a frown. "Xunahs, I know you are a Heartless. I have a pretty good feeling that you are going to be finding the heart to this world and take it." Vortex appeared in his hand. "Sorry bro, but I just can't let that happen."

Xunahs growled and an Air Soldier floated to him, whispered something. Xunahs bowed and opened a portal. "Sorry to you too, bro. I must take my leave." Xunahs opened a portal and left. Kevin ran through the portal as it closed and found himself standing in the dragon's den. Xunahs was standing before a sapphire-blue keyhole that was floating above the sapphire star. He entered the keyhole, and Kevin ran after him.

* * *

_Eragon! Arya is in the city! She needs your help!_ One of the twins cried in Eragon's mind. He grunted and Saphira flew to his side. Her armor glistened wondrously in the moonlight. He jumped onto her back and they flew to the dragon's den, the only place Saphira could enter. They touched down; Eragon glanced at the keyhole above the sapphire star, and was confused. He shook his head and ran to the stairs. He saw a wooden board and the wide ramp that was on the one side of the stairs that went down below the mountain's surface from the five hundred foot peak. He grabbed the board, lay on his stomach and slid on the board down the ramp.

At the bottom of the ramp, he tumbled out and he looked around to look for Arya or Ugrals. There were none there; there were no signs of a struggle at all. He looked around confusedly and noticed a section of the ground bulge up. It relaxed, and then burst back up in an earthy explosion. A black flame shot at Eragon, who sidestepped it. The dust and debris cleared and Durza stood at the edge of the opening.

"Hello, Argetlam."

* * *

Author's Note: Well! This is the near-conclusion of the world of Alagaesia. Kevin and Eragon both face life-changing battles, while the others are stuck in a war, which also happens to be pretty damn life changing. Venxik has found a new world to conquer, only to find that it already has been by another sinister force. Will the two parties work together? Only time will tell.


	25. A New Chapter

Chapter Twenty-Five: A new chapter

"Xunahs! Stop! Don't destroy the world! What about that girl? From the tavern, don't you like her?"

Xunahs was standing before the heart of Alagaesia, ready to claim it. He turned around to Kevin and snarled. "She was nothing! Only a pawn to make people think that I was human! I never cared for her, I never cared for Galbatorix, and I never cared for you! You always one-upped me! I am going to take the heart of this world and prove myself to Venxik and my true brother! Now die!"

He ran at Kevin, holding both swords ready. When Xunahs got close to him, he twisted to avoid the Heartless and fired a ball of electricity at the Heartless' back. He jumped and did a flip over Xunahs' head as he charged back at Kevin. When he was above Xunahs' head, he lashed out viciously with his clawed hand and Vortex. When he landed, he shot a ball of lightning and ran at Xunahs.

He kept firing more and more to keep Xunahs occupied and finally was close enough to strike Xunahs. The Keyblade met shadowy flesh and Xunahs cried out in pain. Xunahs punched Kevin in the chest and knocked him onto his rear. Kevin flipped on to his hands and used his hands to rotate himself at a high speed and hit Xunahs several times in the gut.

_I always wanted to do that!_ Kevin cried mentally.

Xunahs was shot back with the last kick. He stood up sluggishly and grinned at Kevin, "You bastard, I always wanted to do that."

Xunahs charged at Kevin through the swirling colours of the chamber the heart resided in. Each step Xunahs took seemed to taint the ground and make darkness come up and pool out. He directed a slash at Kevin. He spun out of the way and slashed Xunahs across the back with Vortex. He kicked Xunahs in the back, connecting with the wound and Xunahs was sent to the ground. Kevin looked down at the Heartless with a solemn expression.

"Sorry to do this bro." Kevin said, getting ready to bring Vortex down.

"I know I'm not." Xunahs replied. He did a roll and jumped to his feet. He opened his mouth and breathed out a thick purple smoke at Kevin. The Nobody gasped and absorbed the smoke. He fell to the ground, clutching at his throat.

He punched Kevin in the face and sent the Nobody sprawling backwards. Kevin landed flat on his back and looked up at the swirling scenery above him. He could see the whole world of Alagaesia. He could see hundreds of elves running through a forest, Galbatorix sitting at his throne, and the chaotic war that was taking place in Farthen Dur (Meaning "Our Father" In the dwarves language).

His eyes clouded over and his breathing became raspy. Xunahs stepped over him, ready to crush Kevin's head when the area shook violently and a roar was heard. Xunahs tsked and said, "It's too dangerous. I will leave Kevin here to die." He opened a portal and left Kevin to lie on the ground, his breathing was getting steadily weaker.

* * *

Za'roc clashed against Durza's blade and Eragon scowled in frustration as each and every one of his Eragon's attacks were defended so easily by the Shade. He jumped back and then lunged at Durza, swinging Za'roc madly as he had done against Arya. Durza easily blocked the attacks and finally pushed Eragon back with a blast of energy. Durza ran behind Eragon, trying to get in the killing blow, his sword stabbed into Eragon's back and he cried out in pain. At that very moment, the sapphire star, hundreds of feet above their heads shattered. The deadly shards rained down towards the two fighters.

Eragon heard Saphira roar and a jet of flame came down. Everything seemed to move in slow motion as Eragon stood up, held Za'roc with his week hands and stab Durza through the heart.

* * *

Jasmine punched an Ugral in the face, gripping her chakram tightly with her right hand. The wheel cut into the monster's face and it howled in pain, swinging its bat madly, clouting Jasmine on the side of the head. The Ugrals behind her found their chance, and dived at her, but were intercepted by three pillars of flame. They connected and fell harmlessly on the Nobody as piles of ash.

Two disks buzzed through the air, decapitating more monsters and a teen wearing a black cloak stood there beside Jasmine, flames running up and down his arms. He glared at the Ugrals as they charged at him and released a torrent of flame that incinerated them. He glared from under his hood and jumped out of the way of two of the charging monsters, firing balls of fire into their backs. He landed on the ground and several pillars of flame exploded up around him.

* * *

Tom and Andrea stood back to back, the Ugrals, mostly kull, surrounded them. Under normal circumstances, it would take five warriors to take down a single kull. So far, twelve surrounded them, and they have yet to be hit. The dwarfs' king, Hrothgar was amazing, however. He was easily taking on five kull, showing that even in his old age that he was worthy of his kingly status.

Andrea grinned at Tom from over her shoulder and said, "So, Tom, you ready for this? I would say things are looking a bit unfair. I mean really. Only twelve of them?"

Tom grinned back, "Only twelve. Yeah, not quite what I was hoping for."

They broke their position and each took on a kull. Andrea smashed their thick skulls in with Frost, while Tom manipulated the earth to make giant stone spikes impale the monsters. He shattered one of the spikes and made the small stones shoot out and destroy more of the kull. The stones came back to his hands, forming an axe, which he swung deftly, cracking bones and caving in one of their skulls. Andrea swung frost around, shards of ice shot out and cut through the massive creatures and melted away. Tom and Andrea ran further into the melee. A lot of the men were faltering, and Kevin hadn't returned since he ran through the kull. She saw Eragon fly away on Saphira. What was happening inside the mountain?

She looked at Tom, the concern was plain in her features, "We need to get Ashlee and Jasmine, find Kevin and Eragon, and then figure out what to do."

There was an explosion of fire in a circle of Ugrals and Tom grinned. "I think we just found Jasmine."

* * *

Ashlee glared at the Ugrals surrounding her. She stabbed one through the chest with her sword, and crushed three more with a gravity spell. She landed on the ground and spun around, the same fire that made up her old whips flew out from her sword and sliced through the surrounding kull and then disappeared into the night air. Heartless began to appear around her. They were Neoshadows, more kull tried to join in on the brawl, but they were attacked by the Heartless.

Ashlee tilted her head with a confused stare, but the Heartless turned to face her again. They came at her with their shambling run and Ashlee sheathed her sword. The two whips appeared in her hands and she sneered at the Heartless.

_I like this sword and all, but I think the whips are more destructive to groups of Heartless._

She spun around, the whips cleaved through the Neoshadows with ease. She made the whips become balls of flame and threw them into the Heartless crowd. There were small explosions and the Heartless disappeared. Tom and Andrea ran towards Ashlee, Tom was carrying an unconscious Jasmine, and a teen wearing a black cloak was following quickly behind them.

Ashlee and Andrea asked each other the same question in unison, "Any sign of Kevin?"

They both said "Crap" and looked at the mountain peak. Ashlee turned to the teen in the cloak and smiled, "Hi there Roxas! It's nice to see you again."

The teen tilted his head to the right and removed his hood, revealing his long, spiky, red hair. He looked genuinely confused. "What do you mean 'Roxas'? I'm Axel."

* * *

Venxik sat down at the Altar of Naught. He thought about the Heartless that were not around as much.

Axdrane, Raynx, Ansem, Rould, Halixat, Xochitl and Maxjisne. They are not on my side. I just know it, the question is: who is the leader?

He thought even more. _They would probably choose the most powerful. That would be Xochitl and Maxjisne hands down. Although, I have yet to see Raynx fight. I wonder if I should initiate a small rumble between the two of us._

He smiled, showing his teeth. "After he returns from his mission."

"So, I assume you are the evil of this world?"

The dragon turned to face the intruder, unlike the dragons of Alagaesia, or the numerous dragons of this world, this dragon was standing on its hind legs, had coal black skin, and was capable of speech with his mouth and not telepathy. His tail swished through the air with agitation, and with a snarl on his lips, he asked, "Who are you?"

The intruder made himself visible in the dark cavern. "My name is Raynx." At that moment, he began sinking into the floor; the earth below him seemed to be swallowing him whole. He never took his eyes off of the dragon; he folded his arms over his chest and smirked.

"That is an amazing illusion, but I won't be fooled so easily by what I have mastered."

The dragon cocked the part of skin that would be his eyebrow and sighed. The earthy prison vanished and cloud enveloped the dragon. In his place was a young male. He was tall and broad shouldered. He was wearing a black cape and under it was a black shirt and black trousers. Do I sense a trend?

"Yes, I am the 'evil of this world'. Now then, explain your presence to me at once."

Raynx grinned and tsked, "My God, are you ever demanding. You are in no position for that sort of thing, sir."

Pretender glared, "You, boy, need to learn to still your tongue. Why the destruction of the High Races hasn't finally happened, I will never know."

Raynx cocked his head to the left. "Say what?"

A throaty growl escaped from Pretender and his gravely voice filled the room with a roar. "I am destined to destroy this world and take my rightful place in this universe, above Wulder Himself! You, one of the seven High Races has no place in my plan! Now, if you do not pledge your allegiance to me this instant, I will destroy you!"

Raynx grinned, showing his row of sharpened teeth, "I was about to say the same thing."

Pretender roared and lifted his arms. The earth below their feet quaked and the stone shattered and a huge crevasse separated the two people. Glaring, Pretender said, "This, Raynx is no illusion. Neither will this be an illusion." Wings burst from his back, the same immature wings that he had when he had his draconic body. He jumped across the gap with ease and the wings disappeared.

He flicked his wrist and a sword with black flames dancing along it appeared there with a thunderclap. He charged at Raynx and swung. Raynx grinned and tried to jump. His feet were rooted to the ground. The flaming sword connected and Raynx disappeared in a puff of black smoke.

A chilling laugh filled the room and Pretender looked around the cavern with a grin pulling at his gaunt features.

"Boy, do you really think you can avoid me in my own domain? You are a fool for those false assumptions!"

There was a light skittering sound. The sound of claws scratching against hard stone. Raynx couldn't detect the source of the noise, something brushed against his leg. Something about the man standing in the room scared him. It shook him to his very core. Or was it the thing that was hanging five feet from his face?

He screamed, but as quickly as the noise was made, it vanished into the darkness. A disintegrating body fell limply into the chasm below.

_One down._

* * *

Xunahs stepped on to the Altar of Naught. He looked around at the night sky that surrounded the tower and sighed with contentment. He saw Venxik and he said, "Yo."

Venxik looked at Xunahs, an eyebrow raised. "Xunahs? I never expected to see you here. I would think that being an ass and telling you that you aren't worthy of being a part of us would make you leave forever. So, why have you returned?"

Xunahs smirked at Venxik, "I returned because of two things: One, I destroyed Kevin, the Keyblade wielding Nobody, and the world was collapsing in on itself. Second, I learned all I had to."

Venxik looked surprised. "You killed… My Nobody? That doesn't seem very likely. I doubt you did that. There is no way."

"Oh really? Let me show you."

Xunahs connected with Venxik mentally and showed him the fight through his memories. He watched Kevin inhale the toxic smoke and watched him taking in his final, raspy breaths before Xunahs left. In the centre of the area they were in, was the heart of Alagaesia.

"Why didn't you take it, Xunahs?"

"The Keyhole was collapsing, if I stayed for too much longer, it would have shattered, and I don't want to know what would have happened to me, so I left."

Venxik grumbled something, but waved his hand dismissively. Xunahs nodded and ran to find Axdrane.

* * *

A light filled the dark room and a voice rang out with that light, "Wake up, young one."

The young one in question rolled and groaned. The voice and light repeated. The "young one" repeated his actions, this time grumbling, "Not yet… Too tired."

"Now."

"No."

A bolt of lightning hit him.

"Ack! I am up! Where am I?"

"The heart of Alagaesia? Oh good, I haven't died yet. How didn't I die?" He looked up at the heart of the world. It was a long dragon, millions of scales covered its body, each one a different colour. It smiled at him, showing pearly teeth and Kevin gave a toothy grin in return. Several of his teeth were missing.

Kevin felt the air holes and only one thought came to mind: _Must… Not… Imply… Tommyknockers… Must avoid… Saying "Tommyknockerth"…_

The heart smiled again, "I was thinking the same thing. So, I guess you want me to return your teeth. I think I can do that; after all, I just eradicated the poison in your system."

The heart/dragon's voice was deep and strong, but it was surprisingly feminine. Another wave of light washed over Kevin and his teeth popped back into place and a metallic pack appeared at his side. He took one look at it, squealed and picked it up in a bear hug. The heart smiled again and said, "I have also taken the liberty of fixing that for you. My knowledge on magic is limitless, so it was easy to put a new one together. This one responds to its wearer's thoughts and can even beat its wings. It is basically a perfect extension of your body. Now then, as for the situation outside. Look."

A window appeared in front of Kevin, displaying the scene outside of the mountain. The Ugrals broke ranks and began attacking each other, and the Heartless. The men joined in the brawl, easily dispatching the Ugrals. Eragon lay unconscious among the remains of the sapphire star. Angela, Arya and Kevin's friends surrounded him. The screen became a gateway and Kevin stood up. The heart nodded at him.

"Proceed and seal me away so I may never face these pesky Heartless again. Thank you Kevin, for protecting me."

Kevin nodded back, trying to make a serious face, but failed miserably. He walked through the gateway and found himself standing next to Eragon, the sapphire Keyhole floated behind him. He turned around, jumped back and shot a beam of light into the Keyhole, there was a click, and it broke down into fragments of blue light that exploded and showered over all of them.

Angela looked confused by the sudden appearance of a boy through a floating keyhole, and Arya smiled and bowed, "Thank you. Kevin-Elda."

Kevin was taken aback by the praise the elf gave him.

"Elda, what do you mean 'Elda?' I didn't do anything _that_ big, did I?"

Arya smiled and said, "Of course you did. You just ensured that the tainted hands of Galbatorix might never reach the heart of this world. For that, I, and all else that hear will be eternally grateful. We have books in our capital explaining the duties of the Keybearer; you just performed one of the biggest and blessed our world with the promise of longevity."

Axel looked at Jasmine, who was asleep in his arms, and Eragon, who was sleeping in the middle of the shattered remains of the sapphire star.

"What about our sleeping beauties?"

Kevin jumped at the new voice and turned to him, stretched out his hand, waiting for it to be shaken. Axel accepted it. "My name is Axel. It's spelled A-X-E-L, got it memorized?"

He let out a whoosh of air as an elbow dug into his chest. Jasmine glared up at him, "What did I tell you so long ago about using that line? I said I would sack you so hard that your children-to-be would feel it."

"Yeah sis, whatever. Anyways, Kevin, your friend Ashlee said something about Roxas. Do you know him?"

Kevin nodded. "Yeah, I do. I was in Traverse Town with Ashlee eight months ago because there was an Invisible Heartless wreaking havoc. So, Ashlee's grandmother got us to go there and take care of it. Needless to say, we were getting owned, and so, Roxas came and kicked its ass. After that, he left."

Axel sighed. "You should have bound him in chains and dragged him off with you."

Ashlee giggled. "Yes, yes we should. Having a third Keyblade Wielder that can use two at once would really be good for us."

Kevin groaned and looked around at the mess the fight Eragon and Durza made, with Saphira's help of course. Ajihad and Murtagh ran into the large room that served as the central area for the city. Ajihad was panting. When he caught his breath, he grinned and was about to say something, but Murtagh cut him off.

"The Ugrals fought amongst each other, as well as the Heartless! The men then proceeded to finish off anything that was left behind! We won!"

Eragon groggily pumped his fist "Woo-hoo"

The people that were native to Alagaesia looked at Eragon oddly, and Kevin laughed at their reactions. He grinned at his friends, "I see you guys rubbed off on him."

"Aye." Tom said, grinning. (The dude has no lines damn it!)

Kevin laughed, Ashlee laughed and Andrea laughed. Axel and Jasmine just seemed to be separated. Ashlee and Andrea's legs wobbled and buckled under them. Kevin and Tom caught them and looked down at them with concern.

"Ashlee, wake up! What happened?"

"Andrea? What the hell! You're burning up!"

"Ack! Ashlee is too!"

Saphira touched her nose to Andrea's sweaty forehead and pulled her head back with a sudden jerk, and made a loud snort. A small tongue of flame shot out and Saphira sneezed, making a larger one come out.

Sorry for that. Ashlee and Andrea are really warm. They are running a bad fever. Perhaps you should dump them in the hospital.

Kevin looked at Saphira and shook his head.

No Saphira, it's okay. We can take them to Ashlee's grandmother; she is a healer and is probably worried sick about Ashlee.

Ajihad heard Kevin's plans of leaving and handed him a letter. "Open it when you can. It is from King Mickey. He left it with me four days ago."

Kevin looked questioningly at Ajihad, but decided to leave his questions unasked. He nodded.

Axel opened a portal to Traverse Town and Kevin looked back at the others. He, Tom and Jasmine waved and said their good-byes, while the Alagaesians said theirs.

* * *

Two days passed and Ashlee and Andrea woke up. When they were ready, Kevin opened the leader and read it out loud. He tore open the envelope, stamped with a wax seal of the King's head.

"_Hiya Kevin and Andrea! I am glad to know that the two of you are okay for the most part. I am sorry to hear about your flying accident Kevin, but I helped by using some light magic to mend your bones to speed your healing process. I hope that you were able to seal the Keyhole, either one of you. Ajihad has told me about you two entering and the ruckus your group caused in the Varden. Are Jasmine, Tom and Ashlee going to stay with you as well? I would like to meet them. Now then, Kevin, this is directed at you. I am both disappointed and proud. Disappointed because you worked alongside evil, but proud because you yourself did nothing more sinister than take a few hearts the romantic way. I travelled Uru'Baen a lot, Kevin. I hear the gossip." _Kevin blushed at the part about him stealing hearts. "_Now then, for Kevin, Andrea and whoever is with them. I want you to come to Radiant Garden, to Merlin's house. They have a surprise waiting for you, as well as another message. Sorry I couldn't stay, but the Heartless are becoming bold again with their attacks, like they did when Maleficent rose to power, which worries me deeply, this is happening too quickly."_

Kevin finished the letter and folded it up. Axel stared at it intently with a cat-like gaze. He stood up and stretched his arms and back.

"Well. I am not going to be going to Radiant Garden, sadly enough. I am going to see if I can find Roxas. I need to pound his skull in."

Jasmine stood up and looked at her brother, "Nerd bashing? I'm in."

Kevin, Andrea, Ashlee and Tom all said good-bye to Jasmine and Axel. They went down to see Rose to explain the situation.

"Hmm, well, it is rather bothersome that you will be leaving again so shortly, but I believe that your clothes may need some changing. They are all far too dirty, blood-stained and ripped."

Andrea squealed with delight, Kevin moaned, Tom rolled his eyes, and Ashlee hugged her grandmother.

* * *

In the store, Kevin was the first to find his outfit; he didn't really care what he got as long as it fit. He was wearing a navy blue t-shirt and a black jacket was over it. On the middle of his t-shirt was a lightning bolt that Rose asked the clerk to embroider. His blue-silver pants doubled as shorts, with a zipper at the knees. He was wearing grey shoes that were designed for long walks and runs. His hair was also trimmed. Kevin ruffled it so that it wasn't perfectly straight.

Andrea was the second to leave the dressing rooms. She twirled around ever so prettily with her own pink jacket with a blue t-shirt underneath. In the middle was a white snowflake. She was wearing sweat pants. They were pink too.

Ashlee and Tom came out at the same time. Ashlee's clothes weren't very flamboyant, just picked out the way Kevin had (whatever fitted). They were nearly the same as Kevin's except for yellow. Tom was wearing an outfit that was nearly the same as the camouflage he wore when they first met.

Rose clapped her hands, her jewellery adding to the noise. She hugged her granddaughter, followed by Kevin, Tom and Andrea.

"Good bye dears! I hope to see you again! Maybe Ashlee will have a ring next time!" Kevin coughed and looked away sheepishly.

They said their own goodbyes, and left through a portal to Radiant Garden.

* * *

Author's Note: Shut up, okay? Towards the end, I got really… Annoyed. I had no idea what to do next, so I just finally gave up and half-assed it. So… Mah-diddley mah-hah and such.

Axel: That's spelled A-X-E-L. Got it memorized?

Arya: An elf. Like most elves, she is skilled with fighting and magic, beyond the abilities of any human.


	26. Calm Before the Storm Part One

Quick note before we begin: 3,200 words (cries) Updating this shorty nearly killed me.

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Six: Calm Before the Storm (Part One)

Xunahs walked up to the teen that lay limply on the ground. The teen was slowly breaking down into the darkness that made him up. He gripped at the bleeding stump that was his arm. His breathing was shallow, and Xunahs, simply by entering the teen's mind was able to tell that the venom was powerful and easily tearing the other Heartless apart from the inside

Xunahs sighed after looking at the other's glassy gaze. He knelt over the other, waved his hand over the teen's abdomen and watched with relative uninterest as a slimy, green-brown liquid seeped out of his large wound. Xunahs watched as the teen slowly came back to consciousness. He turned around without saying a word and opened a portal, only one thought crossed his mind: _No use wasting what still has use._

The teen stood up groggily and followed Xunahs through the portal. When they appeared on the other side, in the room that used to belong to Number VI, Zexion, the other Heartless collapsed on the bed and Xunahs stood before him. A dark grin spread across his lips and his voice became deeper and was one that demanded power. He said, "Good night, brother." He laughed and left the room, after shoving Raynx mentally.

He walked into Axdrane's room. She squealed and screamed and made a wide assortment of annoying noises. Xunahs walked by her, not paying any attention. She called him a bastard, with some more wonderful select words. He looked at her, his eyes becoming purely black; Axdrane's expression clouded over and she fainted.

_The powers of a Heartless are truly amazing._

Xochitl and Maxjisne were sparring. Surprisingly, it was evenly matched, even though Maxjisne could vaporise whatever Xochitl threw at her. Xochitl easily froze over whatever projectile was melted and kept it on its course. Maxjisne spun out of the way of the attack and Xunahs felt a twinge deep down inside him because it reminded him of Kevin's strategy when they sparred. The thought disappeared as if brushed away by a hand and Xunahs' dark expression came back.

Maxjisne shot a ball of fire at Xochitl, who shot a ball of ice at it, making them both disappear in a puff of steam. Xunahs stood in between the two girls and bowed to the two of them respectfully, summoning his swords.

"Ladies, care to dance?"

* * *

Venxik stood behind Ansem, both looking up at the gateway to the realm that the Keyhole of Radiant Garden was located in. The black, green and red flowed around in peculiar patterns. To humans, the portal would give an ominous aura. It was nothing more than a small breeze to Heartless. Venxik let out a low whistle and said, "So, Ansem the Wise, the previous ruler of the world set this chamber up to protect the Keyhole? But, due to the Heartless raiding the world, the protection is gone, and even now, the heart of Radiant Garden is slowly degrading. I can feel its life fade slowly. The locking of the Keyhole hindered the darkness from growing, but that is about it. Just leave a source of constant darkness by it, and it will eventually shatter beyond salvation. Is that all you wanted to bring me here for, Ansem?"

Ansem nodded, a scowl twisted his features. "Yes, that is all."

Venxik stepped through the gateway and disappeared. A minute passed and he returned.

"I set up a source of darkness. Enter and see if you wish."

Ansem shook his head negatively, "I'd rather not."

Venxik grinned, showing his pointed teeth, which he hadn't done for a long time. "I am not really giving you a choice, Ansem."

Black tendrils shot out through the gateway and ensnared Ansem. He roared in fury and was pulled in through the portal. Venxik laughed, hearing the muffled agonized cries Ansem produced and left through his own portal.

Kevin blinked repeatedly as he stepped out of the portal into the sun of the Radiant Garden shopping

* * *

district. Kevin looked around, using a hand to cup his eyes. All the shops were abandoned and there wasn't a single person in sight. _What happened over here?_

There was a cackle and a green and black pillar of flames shot up and reached into the sky. Kevin and Andrea summoned their weapons, Tom made several small stones float around him and Ashlee drew her sword.

Kevin looked at Andrea, and she returned his unmoving gaze. "That was a woman's voice, and that flame. Sora told us about that before we left the islands. What did he say again?" She asked.

Kevin watched as a woman in a black flowing robe and with hair set up like thorns. Kevin froze and paled.

"Maleficent."

At the mentioning of her name, the witch turned to the four teens and smiled sweetly.

"It would seem as though the residents of this disgusting world have finally sent some warriors to take me on. Oh, what's this? _Two_ of the whelps have Keyblades?" She began her cackle and Kevin began backing away, Tom and Ashlee looked at the two terrified Nobodys.

"Why are you two acting this way?" Tom asked, cocking his head to the right. Kevin was visibly shaking now. "Sora told us about Maleficent. What he said about her. If we ever meet her, we should to turn around and run away as fast as we can."

_Why is she so terrifying? I fought Xunahs, Venxik and worked under Galbatorix. How can I be afraid of this witch? Her gaze… It's familiar…_

Maleficent cackled and waved her arms. Several Soldier and Large Body Heartless appeared in the shopping area and began to advance to them. She turned around and disappeared in a green-black flame, leaving a Defender Heartless in her place.

Kevin and Andrea were still shaken, and the Heartless were closing in. Ashlee growled, turned around and slapped the two, snapping them both out of their trances. "If you didn't notice, there are more Heartless around us than what Tom and I can handle. So snap out of it and help us!"

Kevin nodded and spun Vortex around. Andrea held Frost at her side, ready to attack. Ashlee sighed and Tom stared intently at the approaching Heartless.

Three of the Soldiers jumped up and spun through the air. Tom shot the small missiles and ripped them apart. Kevin used Thunder, distracting the Heartless and Ashlee and Andrea ran in to the wave of Heartless. Andrea shot a ball of ice at a Large Body and landed on the other side. She spun on the spot and cut it, as well as three Soldiers in half.

Ashlee brought out a whip, wrapped one around a Soldier and spun around, smashing the trapped Heartless into the others. When the others died, she used Gravity on the Soldier, crushing it into the ground. She threw her sword at a Large Body, making it get stuck inside the giant Heartless' body. The sword and the Heartless erupted in pale blue flame.

Kevin grinned and opened up his wings that were inside the metallic pack. The new one that he had was a lot thinner than the previous one. He sent a telepathic order to it and was lifted off the ground by the wings beating powerfully. He flew at the Heartless, decapitating Soldiers and shooting balls of lightning at the Large Bodies.

After the small frenzied battle, only the Defender remained. Kevin landed in front of it and smashed Vortex against the dog-faced shield. It pushed him away with ease and he landed back on the ground. He frowned and talked to the others mentally.

_So, it would seem this one has a good defence. Any suggestions?_

_Beat the crap out of it?_

_I like it._

Kevin grinned at Ashlee, who made the suggestion. Tom sank into the ground and Ashlee and Andrea began to run to its sides. Kevin opened his wings and flew at the shield-wielding Heartless. He landed on the shield, flipped through the air and smashed Vortex on its small head. Tom burst up through the ground below the Heartless. The stony fist smashed into its chest. They got away just before the Heartless became encased in ice. Ashlee and Andrea jumped at it and began slashing at it rapidly with their weapons. The ice, as well as its captive exploded.

Kevin wiped his brow and high-fived his friends. They turned around to see Leon and Yuffie standing at the top of the stairs. Yuffie waved crazily and Leon just simply flicked his wrist in greeting. Kevin and Andrea returned their greetings and walked to them through the market, where people were slowly coming out of their hiding places.

In the house, Kevin, Andrea, Ashlee and Tom sat at the enlarged table. The house itself seemed much bigger than it was before. Yuffie, Aerith, Leon and Cid sat opposite while Merlin sat at the head (Seniority gets the most important seat). Kevin introduced Ashlee and Tom, explaining that they joined up shortly after Kevin and Andrea departed. He then recounted the events during the eight months they were absent and finally, Kevin asked the question that darkened the cheerful mood of the room.

"So, how's Tahlia?"

Leon frowned and pinched the bridge of his nose with his gloved hand. Yuffie looked downright depressed, Aerith smiled sadly and shook her head, Cid swiped at his nose sombrely and Merlin harrumphed. Leon recounted what happened the day Tahlia disappeared and explained the search that scoured the world as well as several others. She had just completely disappeared from the world all together.

Kevin leaned back in his chair and sighed. "Shaun? He was a notorious assassin here at Radiant Garden? He is a Nobody, and he is running amok? Interesting. So, when he became a Nobody, do you know anything about a Heartless?"

Leon looked across at Kevin, eyebrow cocked. "No, nothing. Why?"

Kevin grinned amusedly. "I think his Heartless is my adoptive brother."

Leon coughed, Yuffie spluttered and Merlin and Cid just made really boring reactions. Kevin stressed on what happened during the eight months on his part of the intertwining stories, and the Restoration Committee was just a bit less confused.

"Okay… So, please explain how you wound up becoming a Heartless' brother." Yuffie said, trying to sound casual.

All eyes were on Kevin; he never did get around to explaining those events in detail. He tilted backwards in his chair, sighed and put his arms across the back of his head. He thought for a moment, and began, "Well. I was captured when my ability to control water started to awaken; I was taken away, dragged through the desert for about two days. I wound up at the jail where Eragon, that world's only hope (every world has one! Except the ones that have been wiped out) was. We were cellmates and when we combined our own magical abilities, we were able to keep ourselves from being drugged long enough to get saved by our rescuers. It was obvious that you guys were coming." he looked over at Ashlee, Tom and Andrea. "So! On the day of the rescue, Durza took me; Galbatorix decided that I was a bigger deal than the last living Dragon Rider. Ashlee, Andrea and Tom finally came up to face Durza, but he was able to block them off, Galbatorix came and took me away at just that moment. During our flight back to the palace, he explained that I would have to act as his son, because it would be strange for the people if two new children came into the kingdom, never heard of before and were extremely powerful. Since Xunahs and I were acting as princes, we had all the power we needed. He often abused it for his own personal desires. Some of his abuses of power were quite loud. Galbatorix' story behind our 'disappearance' and our 'reappearance' is that we were sent each to a separate backwater village that we could be safe from the 'evil Varden'. That inspired some hatred for the Varden. That inspired me to go out into the city each night and learn what I could about the world. Anyways, that answers your question."

Tom sighed and looked at his hands with sorrow. "And my summer was uneventful."

Yuffie crooked an eyebrow at Tom and looked at Ashlee, apparently seeing the two for the first time. "And who are they?"

Tom spoke up first. "My name is Tom, I am Andrea's friend that happens to be a boy." Ashlee sneered at him, "A friend that happens to be a boy, eh? So, what is boyfriend and girlfriend for you? Does she have to be impregnated? I am Ashlee, Kevin's very good friend. Unlike Stone Pants over there, I am not making out with my opposite sexed friend at every turn."

Yuffie nodded her head sagely. "So, basically, you are Kevin's girlfriend, and you have some boundaries." Kevin grinned. "Not to mention she has a great right hook!" A silence fell over the room, Kevin's face turned crimson. "As in her punches. Nothing else that could be considered a right hook." He giggled nervously.

Ashlee demonstrated her amazing right hook by slugging Kevin's cheek; knocking him out of his chair, head making a painful crack upon impact with floor. He rose up with a dazed grin. Apparently, his small comment was worth the blood that was matting his brown hair. Ashlee glared at him and raised her hand, letting a small blue flame dance around her fingertips. "Castration via pyromania, anyone?"

Kevin looked up at Ashlee. She let out a pyromaniacal cackle and the flames grew. She grinned, flicked her wrist and the flames disappeared. She helped Kevin back into his seat and coughed, acting like nothing happened. Everyone took that as the a-okay to start talking again.

* * *

The noon quickly became evening, and finally, there was only darkness and a multitude of stars in the sky.

When it was the lights-out time for Radiant Garden, Kevin and Ashlee crawled out of their respective rooms and clambered onto the roof of the house, lie down, and look up at the stars. Kevin noticed that there were several more gaps in between the stars than there were previous nights. Even in his lit bedroom at Galbatorix' castle, he could see more stars. It was also very dark in the streets because at midnight, all power except the essentials (town defence, hospital) was cut off.

Kevin looked over at Ashlee and grinned. "Well, today was one hell of a day. And talk about jet lag! It was early morning on the fifth of August in Traverse Town, and when we arrived here, it was noon on the sixth! The stars though, are worrying me. They are blotting out." A star faded from existence, Kevin shivered as Venxik's laugh ran through his mind. "Surprise, surprise, there goes another one. We only know about Venxik, Xunahs and Rould. You saw two others. Tom and yourself had to have had Heartless. His girlfriend probably did too. If Tahlia lost her heart, would that be another Heartless with a human form? What about Jasmine? That right there is ten. There could be more. Do you really think we can take them, Ashlee?"

She sighed. Her voice was strong, but her eyes betrayed herself and showed her feelings on the situation. "I think we will be okay. We have us, not to mention Axel, Jasmine and Roxas. We also have the HBRC, Grandma Rose as well as the Varden helping us. They would also have their own sources of help I can only imagine. We are different from the Heartless, Kevin. We have people that are in it for the better good, their wills burn brighter for what they believe than for what the Heartless desire. I hope we will be okay."

For the rest of the hour they spent on the roof, they watched the stars. In that time, five more blinked out.

* * *

That night, Kevin tossed and turned in his bed. In the clutches of a nightmare that was from before he lost his heart.

Kevin, his mom and dad were all in the emergency room. Kevin's older sister was lying on her hospital bed; several severe burns were on the exposed parts of her flesh. They were black, almost as if charred. If someone put his or her hand even remotely close to the burns, she would scream in pain. The doctor explained that the minimal heat that the human body radiated was enough to agitate the burns. It was pretty strange, but very dangerous. Arlene, Kevin's sister explained that someone attacked her. She couldn't make out whom it was, but the person was sinister. The only thing she could remember was a cackle.

The thing that worried the doctor the most was the failing of Arlene's heart. Finally, two nights after her attack, she had passed away. During the funeral service, when Kevin stepped up to give his tearful goodbye, he instinctively put his hand on her wrist and, for a moment, he felt a heartbeat and it left as quickly as it came. There was a small puff of black smoke from a wound on her chest (which was covered by her favourite t-shirt). Kevin withdrew his hand as the small puff flew at it and vanished in to his hand. He collapsed, cutting the funeral short.

That night, Kevin phoned Andrea (both were thirteen at the time) and told her what happened. He explained that he was going to do something that could be potentially dangerous.

"And, if I do not phone back before two in the morning, or make any sign of being okay, phone the cops."

He relayed similar messages to Sora, Riku and Kairi, who had all attended the funeral. There was the faint hint of tears in Kairi's voice. Arlene was a big sister for everyone on the islands. Kevin got out of his bed. Removed his clothes and put on black sweat pants, a black hoodie and his slippers. He sneaked in to his garage, grabbed a shovel and left, just after disabling the house alarm_._

* * *

"Like a phoenix, I have risen from the ashes! Quake in terror mortals, for my reign of terror is set back in motion!"

He let out a loud whooping cry as a rock smacked in to the back of his head he fell on to the ground with a thud.

"Shut up you idiot. Do you have any idea what time it is?"

"Yes'm."

Five minutes later. The obnoxious voice spoke up again (quietly).

"Fweheheh… The Dark Hero shall arise."

"BED! NOW!"

"FINE!"

* * *

Author's Note: This visit to Radiant Garden was intended to be much, much shorter, but I decided that it would be expanded (probably making the whole story up another five chapters). Chapter was short. I feel bad. I will go cry in a corner now. (kidding) Now then, let us chat about this Dark Hero… If you know anything about Rozalin (Zenon's Daughter) you will probably know who he is. I do not enjoy giving such a huge-ass hint, so be happy. As for the dream that Kevin is currently ensnared in… Kekeke (that is all I shall say)

Arlene: Kevin's deceased older sister. She was like a big sister to the younger inhabitants of Destiny Islands. She died by mysterious burns that were causing heart failure


	27. Calm Before the Storm Part Two

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Calm Before the Storm (Part Two)

Ashlee, Andrea, Tom and the HBRC stood around Kevin as he twisted and turned in the grip of his nightmare. He was running a bad fever. He twisted and rolled again, nearly falling out of bed. Tom was able to support him in time, Ashlee giving the final shove to correct his position. Suddenly, his mouth opened and closed. After a bit more tossing, he opened his mouth again, this time, sound escaped. "Arlene…"

Andrea clasped her hand to her mouth and took in a sharp breath of air; everyone turned his or her attention to her. Hands and voice quivering, she said, "We have to wake him up. Now!"

Yuffie looked confused by the sudden orders. "But how are we going to do that, Andrea? We have been trying that for some time now."

Andrea clenched and unclenched her fists and looked sternly at Kevin, then Ashlee. "Ashlee, can you enter his mind?"

Ashlee smacked her forehead for not thinking of that sooner. She tapped Kevin's mind and reeled back as if punched in the face. She looked horrified, and the slightest amount of blood trickled from her nose.

_What the hell was that? Kevin viciously attacked me enough to send me flying back. But he's asleep… What kind of dream is this?_

She asked Andrea the same question. The other girl looked at Kevin, and then Tom. She sat on the floor, cross-legged and told everyone else to do the same. It would be dangerous to try and remove Kevin from his slumber.

* * *

"Ugh! This is unfair! The great Dark Hero, ME of all people being made to do errands! I will not stand for this kind of treatment! I am stronger than even an Overlord!"

"Ah, but Axel darling! Where are we going to get the respect from these wimps? No amount of ding-dong-ditches will be able to build the fear in their hearts we need!"

Axel ruffled his own short, blond hair as a breeze fluttered around his white jacket that was opened completely, revealing a tan torso. The five-second thought process ceased, an evil glint lit up his eyes and he looked out from the tower. "Director! Tell me, what is the job of the Dark Hero when people are in trouble?"

The furry-faced man picked up his megaphone and shouted, "Increase their pain tenfold!" He quickly regained his composure. "But, Axel darling, where are we going to find someone in peril? This is such a quiet world."

Axel grinned, showing perfectly bleached teeth. "Get the camera! We are going to film the great return of the Dark Hero!"

The director nodded happily, motioned for the camera-carrying zombie (I do not joke.) to follow. A blue-ish portal, a smaller version of the gateways that Axel relied on for travel opened, and out of it came five large breasted women wearing white robes, with amazing swords tucked in to their scabbards, followed by 3 intimidating looking men that wore large black coats making them look sinister. The giant spears they carried did not help make them seem any less intimidating. Finally, two young people walked out. A male and a female. The girl was blonde, and wore an extravagant black dress. The male wore a white shirt that had the sleeves removed. His hair was long and red, just like his amazingly oversized tie.

He sighed and ducked his head. "Rozalin, please remind me why we are here; with Axel of all people." Rozalin stared at the young man coldly. "Because that witch that Axel is working for destroyed Veldime, so we are going to have to work along side her if we want her to bring it back." The young man seemed unconvinced. Rozalin sighed and rolled her eyes. "Apparently there are some really strong warriors here, that is why Axel begged her to spare us." This immediately made the young man brighten up. He smashed his fist into his palm and said with a wide grin, "Let's go and get back Veldime!"

Rozalin sweat-dropped. "Adell, you fight maniac."

* * *

Kevin zigzagged through the dark streets, the houses behind him quickly faded into the darkness. He made a left at an alley and darted through it. His plan was to make as much of a complex route as possible to throw people off of his trail. Under any other circumstances, he would not have made such a complex route, but Arlene had a pulse, a dark cloud puffed from her chest and entered Kevin. Also, if he looked to his sides, he could see beady, yellow eyes following him.

Finally, he reached the gates of the cemetery that Arlene lay buried in. It didn't fit the bill for your stereotypical, ominous, thick fog graveyard, nope; the tombstones all lay in perfect rows. Luckily for Kevin, Arlene was buried under an apple tree. It was said that if you ate an apple from that tree that you would die in seven days, leaving no trace of your existence behind. He shuddered at the thought. This myth was thought up before Arlene's death.

He approached Arlene's tombstone, many parting gifts from her friends were left there. Kevin began to dig and after ten minutes of the scooping motion, Kevin said humourlessly: "Well, I now know why grave diggers are so ripped." After a long time of digging, his muddy shovel collided with wood. His heart stopped for a moment as a small green light fluttered by. It passed, making the small hole dark again. Instinctively, Kevin brought down the shovel with all his might on the wood. The coffin gave way, and Kevin saw nothing due to the darkness. The green light passed over again, and Kevin took in a sharp breath.

It was empty.

He grunted as and clutched at his head, got on he knees and started tugging at his hair. He groaned as he felt himself stretching. His clothes ripped in several areas, leaving Kevin mostly exposed, except for some random tattered remnants of his clothes. He stood up, the slender sixteen year old that was in the grip of a nightmare. He looked around for a moment, confused and Vortex appeared in his hand. He clambered out of the hole and a cold voice met him at the top.

"My child, you are such a resilient one." Kevin whipped around to be staring at Maleficent. He quailed at the sight of her. She cackled and a green flame burned into life and surrounded them. She tapped the ground with the butt of her staff and smiled malevolently at Kevin. He immediately remembered the gaze.

What was once terror became rage. He glared at the witch and spat. "You bitch, you are the one that killed Arlene."

There was a flash of light, and Kevin was wearing the same clothes he was wearing when he fought the Venxik from his dream. He was stony faced and didn't see anything besides Maleficent. Under other circumstances, the previous sentence would be deemed romantic, but in these… Not so much.

(A/N: -grin-)

The other Keyblade was in his left hand again. Kevin, without breaking his gaze, advanced on Maleficent, energy crackling around the weapons. Maleficent seemed taken aback by the change in mood, but quickly regained her composure so she could send a ball of green flame at Kevin.

The fire passed through Kevin. An instant later, Vortex passed through Maleficent. She screamed in what was a mix of fury and pain, and vanished, as did the dream Kevin was in.

* * *

Ashlee jumped with a yelp as Kevin did the same and fell out of his bed. At nearly the same time, a knock on the door of Merlin's house was heard. Cid opened the door, there was a crash and very loud swearing, and a man with blond hair came into the room. He struck a heroic pose and pointed at a groggy Kevin. "YOU!" He cried. Kevin blinked sleepily.

"Yes, me."

"You are in distress! As Axel, the Dark Hero, it is my duty to increase your pain tenfold!"

"Oh Axel darling, this is gold!" A man cried from outside. A camera poked in and was aimed at Kevin, who waved his hand, obviously confused by the situation at hand. The holder of the camera poked its head in. It was a green zombie. Kevin yelped and fell out of his bed, his legs stuck up in the air and smacked against the wall next to his bed. Andrea and Tom screamed, held each other in their arms and everyone else reacted nonchalantly.

Leon stood up, and summoned his Gunblade.

"So, care to explain why you guys barged in on us?"

Yuffie glared at the zombie, who began backing away. "And why exactly is there a zombie in here? Do you guys have any idea how many hours of intense labour it takes to get grave mould out of hardwood floors?!" (A/N: I know I don't)

Much more bickering continued, and finally, Kevin sat up. Still slightly dazed, he tried to say something but was drowned out by the argument that had somehow not escalated into a brawl. Kevin yelled, but was not heard. Finally, with a crimson face, he brought his hands together and a thunderclap silenced everyone.

Kevin stood up; a bathrobe was the only thing he was wearing besides a pair of boxers. With the finger of hate, he pointed at Axel. "Who are you, and what are you doing here?" Axel pointed his finger of triumph at Kevin and shouted, "You! I am here for you! Best of all, you can't possibly be armed!"

Kevin realized his lack of clothing, and re-realized that he was on camera. Crimson facedly, he tightened his bathrobe.

_Oh great, so people across the universe are going to see their hero wearing only a pair of boxers. It was bad enough when Tom and Andrea saw me naked, but now I have to be wearing boxers and a bathrobe on camera?! And since when does a situation where a strange man barges into your room while you are wearing nothing end well? NEVER! THAT'S WHEN!_

Another thought dawned on Kevin. This one was even more unnerving. He turned to Ashlee and asked. "Uh, Ash… Who exactly undressed me?"

"If you are thinking it was me, you are wrong."

"Was it Andrea?"

"Nope."

"Leon?"

"Negatory."

"Yuffie?"

"Pfft."

"Aerith?"

"Even though she is a doctor… Nope."

Kevin shivered.

"Cid?"

Ashlee snorted, not bothering to answer.

"M-Merlin?"

Ashlee made a loud shriek of a laugh and through teary eyes, said "No!"

Kevin's eyes widened. "Was it Tom?"

Tom nodded, "Bingo."

Kevin let out a whoosh of air and sat down. He would ask further questions, but decided to leave it at that.

_Uh, wasn't I wearing another pair of boxers?_

_**I said, "leave it at that."**_

Axel was now infuriated at this point by the lack of attention that he was receiving.

"I, the Dark Hero, will not be ignored!" He roared and punched Kevin in the face, knocking him over. Tom stood up, looked at Axel with a small glare. "Okay, Dark Hero, there is no need for that sort of thing."

Axel glared at Tom. "SHUT UP HOMO-CHILD!"

Kevin jumped up with a slightly bloodied nose and leaped at Axel and wrapped his arms around his back screaming "You bastard!"

The others sat back and watched. Ashlee and Andrea were staring wide-eyed and Andrea whispered to Ashlee. "Y'know, to the untrained eye, this would imply several things."

* * *

Several minutes later, Axel was thrown against a wall, his head smashed against it and he fell unconscious in a humorous position. A man with a shaggy beard came in and dragged him out. Kevin plopped down on the bed and lay down again, taking in a large gulp of air.

"Fighting a weird guy like that after waking up is never a good idea."

Tom, who was once again, sitting with Andrea said, "Neither is being naked on inter-planetary TV."

Kevin looked down on himself. _Wearing only boxers again_. Kevin was too exhausted to blush after the brawl. He rolled off the bed lazily and rolled under it. A bolt of lightning shot out from under the bed and hit the abandoned camera, making it explode.

"Why, why do things like this happen to me? Why I ask! Why?!"

Andrea sighed and took a sip of the Coke she was holding. "Because you touch yourself at night." Another bolt shot out, missed Andrea, shot out the door. A loud yelp was heard, followed by swearing. Kevin groaned and rolled out from under the dusty bed, picked up a pile of clothes that lay in a scattered mess on a shelf above it and rolled back under. There were some shuffling sounds, and Kevin rolled back out from under the bed, wearing his usual clothing. He stood up and stretched.

"So, I shall ask again. What the hell happened?"

Leon raised an eyebrow, doing his best to conceal an annoyed smirk. "I have no idea, but I would say that these guys should be scanned by our computers. Also, you four should go out with Yuffie and track them down and get some better answers than 'I am the Dark Hero!' from those people."

Yuffie saluted Leon goofily and said, "Sir! Yes Squall Sir!" Leon sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Yuffie and her personal search party left the house, leaving Merlin and Aerith to clean up the mess, and Cid and Leon to scan the computer.

* * *

Outside of the house, Yuffie split them up into groups.

"Okay, Kevin and Ashlee, you will head over to the Bailey and search that area thoroughly. If there is anything suspicious, please report it to me, even if it is irrelevant to this stupid search."

"Tom and Andrea, you will go to the shopping square and once again, report anything suspicious to me. I will stay here and look around. Two more things before you go."

"One: Do not, under any circumstances use portals. The Heartless have been getting more and more powerful, and we think they could attack you while you are in the corridors of darkness."

"Two, you guys will be using these to communicate."

She gave each of them a headset and put one on her own head. They did the same and nodded. Yuffie snapped her fingers and said, "Oh yeah! You will each get one of these." She handed them a purple card. "This shows that you are a part of the HBRC, meaning you can go anywhere and enter any building if it will aid you in your search. Also, Kevin and Ashlee." She gave Ashlee a small key. "That will open the gate that leads to the castle, since it hasn't been entered since Sora destroyed the MCP, I am not sure what kind of shape it's in. Anyways! Get going."

They all nodded, said, "Yes mam!" and left.

In the Bailey, Kevin flew above ground and scanned the area for Axel and co. Ashlee walked around the ground and searched.

It's amazing, I never expected Yuffie to take charge like that.

_Maybe it had to do something with Tahlia. Maybe Yuffie felt responsible and decided to smarten up during these kinds of things._

_Ashlee, where the hell would I be without you?_

_I don't know, falling upwards maybe?_

_Dare I ask?_

_If you want._

Kevin stuck his tongue out and landed in front of the gate. He could have easily flown over it, but decided to land. There was something moving on the other side. He hid behind a piece of rubble and said quietly into his mouthpiece, "I found something moving on the other side of the gate, I am going to enter its mind and see if I can find something."

He did just that, but found nothing. It was like the thing had no mind of its own. The only thing Kevin noticed from entering its mind was coldness, and a phrase that was repeated over and over again. _"The Abhorsen, curse the Abhorsen."_ The silhouette gave Kevin its attention and began advancing towards the gate. Static buzzed in his headphones loudly for a second, and then died. Ashlee cried out as hers did the same.

Kevin smelled something that was absolutely putrid and ran back and threw up. Ashlee was at his side in a moment. The thing began bashing its arms against the gate, each time it made contact; Ashlee and Kevin could taste something that was similar to iron.

* * *

Yuffie swore when she heard the static and the headset died. A metallic taste rolled over her taste buds and she whispered, "Oh God no. Not now, not here."

* * *

There was a chorus of screams shortly after the headsets as well as any form of technology in the shopping area died. Even the Claymores (Town defence) stopped working. There was an eerie creaking noise, almost like the sound of dry bones grinding against one another. There was an anguished cry, turning the couple's attention to a man that was being brutally attacked by a black figure. Instinctively, Andrea touched the man's mind as he was being attacked, a voice screamed at her through the connection.

"_Help me! Somebody help! This monster is tearing me apart!"_

The thing silenced the man, and his beheaded corpse stood up and began advancing on Tom and Andrea, at that moment, the creaking of grinding bones got louder, windows crashed and rotten corpses walked out on to the street and began advancing on the two, the freshly beheaded man taking the lead.

Andrea was petrified. _Wha-what is happening?_

* * *

Maxjisne sneered at Xunahs. "So, the noob is back, well. Why would we fight you? You didn't even take on a Nobody Leader, you were so weak that you were pulled out before you were even able to get started."

Xunahs grinned and bowed in the princely manner Galbatorix told him when addressing his subjects.

"Maxi, do you really think I came here to fight you for no reason? I do have a reason, and it is simply that, if I can beat the two of you, you will join me. I have already subdued Raynx and Axdrane, so what about you two? Are you up for the challenge?"

Xochitl commented on the weather, and how it somehow had a connection to how Xunahs would look after they were finished with him. Xunahs just sighed and summoned his weapons. Disappeared momentarily and held the swords at their backs.

"Is that all, girls? I guess it isn't too surprising for a couple of women to be owned so horrendously by a man such as myself."

Maxjisne was infuriated by what Xunahs said, spun around, careful to avoid the blade and swung Sun Blade down on Xunahs' arm. Sun Blade met the toxic green metal of the sword that was previously at Maxjisne's back. Xunahs pushed Maxjisne away, jumped, and kicked Xochitl in the chest.

Xochitl stumbled back, regained her composure and gracefully ran at Xunahs, her staff taking the shape of a rapier. She twirled around Xunahs' swing and dug the ice rapier into his shoulder. He grinned at her and pulled out the weapon and crushed it with his hands. He put his left hand over the hole and said, "Waise heill." The wound closed up and Xunahs spun around to face Maxjisne, whose swords were both engulfed in flame.

She smashed his face with the open mouth of Sun Blade and let out a burst of flame through it. She brought Moon Blade around and slashed it across Xunahs' hip. He fell over and stood up, grinning like a man possessed. Part of his face was missing so you could see the bones in his mouth. He healed the wounds with ease and jumped back.

"Enough of this. I will make you two join me."

His eyes became black, and he entered both of their minds, and wreaked havoc. The two girls fell over wordlessly and Xunahs laughed triumphantly.

* * *

Venxik sighed and looked around the twilit world. Everything was dismal and had sunset hues. Small black specks floated up into the sky and all of the hearts that could be taken were shattered. Venxik walked out onto the lake and spread his arms out. A large torrent of water shot up and a grotesque bug floated in the air before him. It crackled with electricity and charged at him. He sidestepped the attack and threw Interfecit at it, cleaving the beast in two. An orb of light rose into the air and flew into the cave that he and Zant fought in before.

Venxik followed it and entered the cave to find a snake-like creature floating dismally above the water. It looked up and said weakly, "Being of sin. I will not let you pass."

Venxik sighed and lifted his hand. The snake moved up. Venxik closed his hand and the creature let out an agonized cry. He swung his hand and the creature smashed against the cave wall. It crumpled to the ground and a pearly keyhole took its place. Venxik shot a ball of darkness into it and left the world through a portal.

* * *

Author's Note: So! Kevin and co. had a GLORIOUSLY big part (seven pages). There is implied yaoi (that will not come to fruition) Undead dudes are attacking our heroes. Xunahs is very very powerful. Venxik is too. I yawn now, for it is 3:00 in the AM.


	28. The Storm

Chapter 28: The Storm

Yuffie threw her headphone down on the cobbled street and ran to the house. She threw open the door and yelled, "Squall! We got a problem!" She noticed that the room was pitch black and slowly advanced, holding Conformer at the ready. A ball of fire shot by her head and hit the wall, engulfing it in flame. The room was illuminated and Yuffie saw Leon standing with the Gunblade pointed at her. He dismissed it and motioned for the others to get out of their hiding places.

"So, I guess you guys know what's happening than." Yuffie said. She was shivering visibly.

Leon nodded and said, "Yeah, the power went out, the Claymores died and then the Dead Hands were wandering the streets. How do you think a necromancer got here without our knowledge?"

Cid harrumphed and said, "Well, the dirty bastard probably snuck in with Maleficent, otherwise my computer would have picked him up in a flash."

Merlin made a similar noise, "Only thanks to me. I was able to use some magic to make your computer able to sense Free Magic, you are lucky you have a wizard here, or you would have no way to detect magical entities that will try to kill you."

Yuffie sighed and said, "Guys! Get it together, we need to get an evacuation set up immediately!"

Aerith nodded, "And we have to get Kevin, Andrea, Ashlee and Tom too."

Yuffie, upon hearing Aerith turned around and ran out the door shouting "Oh crap!"

* * *

Kevin stood up weakly. He looked at Ashlee and asked, "What the hell is that, and why the hell did I just throw up?"

Ashlee glared at the thing that was bashing on the gate, small amounts of rotten flesh plopped on the ground on the other side of the gate.

"The reason you threw up, Kevin is because there is a source of Free Magic nearby, because there is a Dead Hand trying to get at us, I would say there is a necromancer nearby, which would be the source of Free Magic." Ashlee said, not once removing her gaze from the Dead Hand.

Kevin looked confused, "Okay, so wait a sec… There is a necromancer attacking us? Uh, what are the odds? I thought they didn't exist!"

Ashlee sighed and said, "Kevin, if dragons, sorcery and the living dead exist, then why wouldn't a necromancer exist?"

Kevin bit his lip. Logic like that was hard to argue with. Another question came to his mind, "Ashlee, how do you know so much about this sort of thing?"

She sighed. "Back at home, in Twilight Town, there were these books in the library that were about mythological stuff, like dragons, sorcery and necromancy. So far, everything the book has said about the first two are true, and it's looking like what it said about necromancy was also correct. So, do you think you can stand up? We need to be careful, simply put, if a Dead Hand can get a hold of us, we will be dismembered and be brought back by the necromancer that is controlling the Dead and we will become said person's minions until he or she dies."

Kevin nodded and stood up weakly. Ashlee raised her eyebrow at Kevin and continued to watch the Dead Hand bash against the gate, most of its hands were gone now.

_It's pretty weird that the Free Magic would affect Kevin so massively, I can feel the taste and some of the weakness that is associated by being around the magic, but I can just brush it off. This is really odd. Could Kevin…? Nah, he couldn't possibly be that._

The stench of Free Magic strengthened and the door got blasted apart, the creature ran at them with a full out sprint. Five more Dead Hands poured out of the gate, effectively surrounding Kevin and Ashlee.

He teetered on the spot for a moment, and then righted himself. He raised his hand up and yelled "Thunder!" The bolts of lightning came down and blew apart the Dead Hands, Kevin teetered again and his eyes started to close and open. The stench of Free Magic was getting stronger still. By now, Ashlee was starting to feel a bit nauseated.

_If there were a necromancer making so much Free Magic pollute the air, it would need some assistance, or be a Free Magic sorcerer. Which would just plain suck balls._

"Okay Kevin, I would say it is time for us to get back to Merlin's, this is getting too dangerous."

Kevin's head bobbed, but Ashlee couldn't tell if it was a nod or a half-awake head bob. She slung Kevin over her should and was about to get away when a deep ring filled the bailey. It seemed to somehow command total control. Ashlee stopped in her tracks and stood like a statue. Kevin was equally as petrified. A man wearing an oilskin cloak walked through the rubble in the bailey to the two Nobodys. Ashlee let out a muffled scream, her mouth was unable to open, and her eyes darted wildly around, trying to find a route of escape.

The man put a large bell into a bandolier that was strapped over his torso. The bell went into the sixth pocket from the top. He studied the two teens with interest.

"So, I have found two new people that will suit me well as minions. Not only that, you are resilient warriors. If only you could stand the Free Magic. Now then, mortals of this world, bow before your master, Hedge!" He began to cackle and a searing flame surrounded him, the stench of Free Magic became too intense for Ashlee to handle and she fell unconscious. Kevin's head landed on her stomach, facing upwards. Hedge blinked and leaned closer to inspect Kevin's forehead. He brushed back a lock of hair and moved back, pulling a dagger out from his cloak.

He grinned and raised his hands as if he were worshipping someone. "Oh master Orannis, the wonderful gifts you bestow upon me! I am flattered that you would give me one with such pure blood to be my servant!"

He cackled and began to advance towards Kevin, holding the dagger high.

Andrea and Tom stood back to back. Tom's stalagmites and Andrea's ice missiles held back most of the Dead Hands that surrounded them. The only problem was that it was impossible to keep them from moving. The only way to stop them was if their bodies were completely annihilated. Tom had even effectively sliced one in half horizontally, but its legs just moved up to him, put him in a scissor strangle-hold, while the upper half of the body moved up to him on its hands and viciously attacked his knees with its rotting teeth. Andrea, noticing her partner's distress froze both halves of the reanimated corpse and Tom crushed them with the giant stone fist that he was using in case the Dead Hands got close.

"Resilience is a bitch!' Tom roared as he made a large rock crush two of the Dead.

Andrea yelled her agreement and encased yet another corpse in ice. There were only twelve of these things, but they were able to shrug almost anything off, so Andrea and Tom were getting exhausted just from killing the first four. Another two died, and another ten appeared from the houses. Tom was having more and more difficulty with throwing stones and Andrea was simply unable to shoot any ice missiles. One of the Dead Hands got close enough to Tom so that he could make out the person's face.

Tom nearly cried when he saw what the Dead Hand once was. It was at one time, a child, no older than eight years old. Its face was mutilated, and an arm was missing. Tom began to tremble, he could only imagine the kid screaming as she was attacked. Andrea fell against his back and Tom tried to stand up. He was too weak. He fell down to his knees and his head hit the cobbled road.

An intense heat washed over him and a voice that was unmistakably male asked, "Did I arrive too late?" A woman's voice replied, "No, they both seem pretty alive. What about these putrid monsters? What are we to do with them?"

Tom heard the sound of a fist meeting leather and the male said, "I think we should destroy them Rozalin. They are killing innocent people. Even Axel would have stepped in and helped."

"Adell, for once, I agree with you." There was a gunshot. "We should destroy these monsters."

There was the sound of a bone being snapped. "Yeah, I guess we should."

"SOARING FLAME!"

* * *

"Venxik! Come out!"

Xunahs stood on the Altar of Naught, looking around for Venxik, who almost always spent his time up there, sitting. He yelled for the Heartless again and then raised his sword and brought it down into the floor beneath his feet. It dug in and Xunahs sat down, resting his back against the flat of the blade.

"You rang?"

Xunahs jumped up. Did the sword just speak to him? The sword glimmered for a moment and floated above the ground. It vanished, and Venxik appeared in its place.

"Xunahs, I must commend you on your progress. You single-handedly took down the traitors. I can only imagine you are here for me."

Interfecit appeared in his hand and he said, "If that is your wish, consider it granted."

Xunahs laughed and threw open his arms, the two swords appeared in his hands and he held them as if he was going to punch and not slash. He spaced out his legs, left foot in front of the other by two feet and was one foot to the left of the right (ie: Front stance in karate). Venxik raised his eyebrow at the strange stance and dismissed Interfecit, getting into the same stance. He grinned, not bothering to show his teeth.

"Such a strange style of fighting, prince. Maybe if you used your bare hands, I would understand, but with swords? Pretty odd."

Xunahs, without saying a word, propelled himself into the air with his right foot and floated above Venxik for a second, before shooting a bolt of darkness with his feet to fire him at Venxik from above. Venxik twisted himself and threw out his hands, catching Xunahs' swords, one with each hand. He did a back flip and threw Xunahs onto the ground and landed firmly on the Heartless' back.

Xunahs coughed, feeling his lungs compress under the force and grabbed Venxik's shin. He tightened his grip and threw Venxik off of him. Venxik flew out over the altar and opened his wings to keep him on course. He stretched out his right hand and opened it. Xunahs' legs and arms snapped together and Venxik moved his hand lazily, Xunahs moved in the same direction. Venxik began closing his hand and Xunahs' invisible bindings tightened too. He cried out as his body was being crushed by the invisible hand and was thrown out over the side of the altar.

Venxik didn't relax, however. Xunahs didn't even try to correct his course as he flew over the edge. Venxik landed on the altar and stabbed Interfecit into the ground below him. Darkness blossomed out from under the blade and shot skyward. Venxik grinned, satisfied, but saw a slight blur and turned around to see Xunahs' sword mere inches from his head. Venxik brought his hand up and caught the blade. Xunahs laughed and expected Venxik to bleed, but he didn't.

He looked at Xunahs with emotionless eyes and asked, "Is that all, prince?" Xunahs went wide-eyed, his previous triumphant expression completely washed away. Venxik, still with a blank face, shattered Xunahs' sword with his hand and Xunahs fell to the ground.

"Prince, I was only toying with you. If you are so intent on dieing, be that way." He held out his right hand and Interfecit appeared in it with an explosion of darkness. "You must have been really confident, prince. Being able to subdue four of the Heartless. They weren't under my command, and then defeating Kevin, my own Nobody with such ease would only make you believe that me, being his Heartless could be no different." He picked Xunahs up by the collar and stared him in the eye. "Prince, let's get one thing straight. Kevin is a prissy wimp that swings around a key-shaped baseball bat. I, on the other hand, am the king of darkness. My will is undeniable. Raynx, Xochitl, Maxjisne, Axdrane and yourself believe I can be defeated with ease; well, let me get this straight, insect. I am immortal."

He threw Xunahs into the air and raised his right hand. A ball of darkness that was easily bigger than the platform they were fighting on formed in his hand. It separated into dozens of smaller balls and dispersed around Xunahs. They doubled in size and shot at Xunahs, each one tore at him. A black beam of energy came down and completely swallowed Xunahs. It exploded and he fell to the ground.

Venxik moved close to Xunahs, to inspect him and just by establishing a mental connection with the younger Heartless, knew he was in a near-death state. Xunahs looked up at him, his head completely skeletal except for his eyes. His fleshless mouth asked him a very familiar question, "Is that all, king?" He stood up. Most of his body was skeletal except for his torso. The flesh on Xunahs slowly grew back from nothing and in less than a minute, he was back the way he was, and even fully clothed. (I am Fanservice Nazi. No fanservice for you!)

Venxik grinned at Xunahs. "Well! This is something to look forward to! When God gives you lemons, make lemonade! When fate throws you an enemy worth fighting, give it your all! I must admit, that you are very powerful. But I have a question, just a simple question. Can you cut me?"

(A/N: Inspired by Ken-chan)

Venxik opened up his wings and stretched out his arms. Interfecit floated in front of him and flew at Xunahs. It was striking as fast as Xunahs could block. He barely had time to watch as Venxik stood there. Darkness was bursting out from the other Heartless, pouring over the sides and completely wiping out any light that was close by. The wings grew, as did Venxik's two pointed teeth, giving him a vampiric demeanour.

The darkness flowed in on Venxik, making his figure completely black. Interfecit grew in size and spikes jutted out of it giving it a sinister appearance.

"Prince, you wanted me to try, well get ready for it."

He dashed at Xunahs with blinding speed, Interfecit flew to his hand and he twirled in front of Xunahs, getting ready to make a slash while in mid air that would cut him in half. He was about to defend himself when he felt cold steel impale him through the chest. Xunahs' eyes clouded over and he fell limp. The darkness that made him up began breaking off and small flecks fell off like ash and rose into the dark sky.

Xunahs laughed weakly as the darkness separated from him. Without turning his head, he said, "Venxik, you know how you say you are the most powerful being of darkness? I hope you realize that isn't true. There is only one other dark entity more powerful than you. And he is more so by a leap and a bound."

"The Dragon Lord? I know. If anything, I am worried that he could come at any point and remove me. Even though he resides in darkness, he cares for the light. Such a strange person."

"Do you know how he is to be slain, Venxik?"

"Can't say that I do."

"Same. Anyways, I feel that I must go and regroup, it would seem you have me beat."

The darkness making up Xunahs broke up completely and reformed several feet from Venxik. A portal opened and he walked through it, leaving the other Heartless alone on the altar. Venxik let the extra darkness disperse and he sat down again, staring up at the sky, watching stars disappear, one by one.

* * *

Xunahs gritted his teeth as he stood on the broken remains of the worlds that rested in End of the World. He roared furiously and slashed his swords, causing shockwaves to ripple the water he was standing on.

"How? How could Venxik win? He had no power before; he nearly killed me and was not even trying! How could one Heartless be so powerful?!" He roared again, causing the water under him to ripple. "Why is it that I can be defeated by a Heartless child and with such ease? Why is it that even with my powers combined with that of a Heartless, I stood no chance?!" He roared again and slashed his sword, causing the water in front of him to shoot skywards.

He began panting furiously and watched the tainted water fall back into place. It was odd watching the strange, aquatic crater he made fill back up.

He glared at the sky, as if it had done something wrong, betrayed him in some way. He muttered, "Venxik, I will claim my position as a god, and in order to do that, you must be removed. It is, after all, your father that I must remove, but you blindly protect him, unaware of his existence. Venxik, you will die, and the worlds will fall into everlasting darkness. This, I swear!"

"You are a fool for believing that you could defeat such a man if he is the person I think you are thinking about." Someone said. (Now then, let's cliché things up a bit!) The voice seemed to come from everywhere, but nowhere at the same time.

"Who said that?" Xunahs asked, annoyance lying deep within his voice.

"I said that." The voice replied. So, an omniscient voice had a sense of humour. Oh joy.

"Well, what are your words of advice, oh wise omniscient voice?" Xunahs asked, not bothering to keep the sarcasm out of his own voice.

"Well, all I can really say is that you should bugger off and leave things to the heroes of the story. What you are doing is trying to take someone else's place, and well, if you try and butt that person out, they will smite you. Smite you good."

"Yeah whatever. And what if I go right on my merry way?"

"Simple enough, I watch as you get smote painfully. No man is immortal, Heartless or not. Even your buddy Venxik has a weakness. Even the Dragon Lord has a weakness. I know it, but as if I am going to spread information like that around."

"You are very helpful, you omniscient son of a bi—"

"Oi! There will be no need for such language."

Xunahs grumbled and left. The voice hummed, as if in thought and whispered to himself (being a male sounding voice means the speaker is most likely a male), "I wonder though, if Lightning and Ice can pull this off? Heck, I don't even think the threesome from the Islands would be able to handle it."

* * *

Shaun twirled his gun around lazily, waiting for Ryan to stop talking to the old, hunched over woman dressed in black so he could get back to shooting targets in the mansion. He noticed the woman giving Ryan a photo. He looked at it, nodded and talked some more, a familiar glint lit up his eyes. For the first time in nearly a year, Ryan and Shaun had gotten a target to remove from existence.

Unlike the wooden targets Tahlia had gone through the immense trouble to dress up, Ryan and Shaun were going to be going after a living breathing person.

At the mansion, with Shaun and Tahlia at the table, Ryan said, "Okay then, we finally have our first mission in a long time, I hope you are up to it. He lives on Radiant Garden right now and is causing problems for that woman I was talking to. Whether it's him smashing her petunias or murdering her oversized poultry, I don't know or care. The thing is, we have a person to kill, and the person will be killed."

He showed them the picture and Tahlia gasped. With a quivering voice, she said, "It's… It's Kevin! We are supposed to kill him?"

Ryan and Shaun were both surprised by her reaction. Shaun asked, "So, you know him?"

She nodded, "Yeah, I do. But why would he be causing problems? He was such a sweet guy. But still, if he is causing problems that are making an innocent old woman having troubles, we should deal with him. Maybe I can convince him to stop it."

Ryan smiled warm-heartedly at Tahlia's thoughts and said, "Yeah, maybe we can. Another thing, the woman wanted us to wait somewhere in the sunken castle for him, because he was supposed to be looking around inside it some time this week."

Tahlia looked serious, which was a rare occurrence. She was only ever serious when she was fighting, or planning out a new resolve. Kevin, I will do my best to help you out of the darkness. If someone like you is getting into trouble, it can't be small.

* * *

Hedge: A powerful, century old necromancer that works under a near-godly entity known as Orannis, the Destroyer. Hedge wishes one day for all life (Human, Nobody and Heartless alike) to be destroyed so he may control their spirits and live at the top of an empire. Hedge is known as a Greater Dead, a spirit that while in Death absorbed countless other spirits to become powerful enough to come back to life of its own free will. Hedge, before dieing was an experience necromancer, how he originally met his demise is unclear.

Adell: A seventeen year old demon hunting human. When he was two years old, a curse was placed on his world, turning its human inhabitants into demons. All of them except for him. Maleficent ultimately removed the heart of his world, and so he and Rozalin joined forces with Axel, hoping to find a way to bring back their world. Despite having a rough life by being a human child in a demon community, Adell has a strong sense of justice and has a "ninja way" that would make Naruto crap his pants. (Disclaimer: Adell doesn't call it his "ninja way")

Rozalin: The seventeen year old daughter of the notorious Overlord Zenon. She is feeling very conflicted about her feelings towards Adell. On one hand, Adell wants to kill Zenon so that the curse that plagued his world would be lifted, making him Rozalin's automatic enemy. On the other hand, she has a blossoming crush on Adell, keeping her from ending his life. However, she has never met Zenon, her father, and blindly loves him, because she desires to meet him so badly.

Axel: Once a famous rockstar and action hero (in that order). After his show was cancelled, he took up a job as a TV tour guide. He met Adell while filming one of his shows. Rozalin told Adell that Axel was Overlord Zenon, and Adell immediately attacked. Chaos ensued. Now, Axel is reported to be dead, and is never seen without his trusty sidekicks the camera zombie and the director, who constantly addresses Axel as, "Axel, darling." Axel on his own is actually not that much of a competent fighter, which is why he made Maleficent spare Adell and Rozalin.

Dragon Lord: The most powerful being of darkness in existence. He has a reputation of immortality (being alive for several centuries can do that to a man.) In regards of strength, speed, stamina and wisdom, he is unrivalled. Nothing much is known about him except those things.

Omniscient Voice: A strange and annoying voice that inhabits the higher levels of End of the World.

* * *

Author's Note: It was a fun chapter to write (yes indeed). If you have read kirinelf's fanfic, Kingdom Blades, then you know whom the Dragon Lord is. I did have kirin's permission to use the character in my fic. Whether or not he will make an appearance is completely unknown to me at this point in time (If you want to read Kingdom Blades, it is on my favourite stories list, or you could go to kirinelf's page directly from my profile, for there is a link on it). Now then! Things are looking very grim for Kevin and Ashlee. Yuffie is off to save the day, and Adell and Rozalin saved Tom and Andrea. Ryan, Shaun and Tahlia are going to try and assassinate Kevin, but Tahlia believes she can help Kevin see the light and remove him from his corrupted path (which he doesn't have).


	29. Mordicant

Chapter 29: Mordicant

* * *

Kevin groaned and slowly opened his eyes. Everything around him was black. There were candles dotting the walls. It was completely silent except for the dull murmur coming from a group of people sitting at a table.

_What? Where am I?_

He looked around the room and remembered what happened before he slipped unconscious. He looked around again and finally yelled, "Where's Ashlee?"

The people at the table jumped, one person bumped his knee and made a long string of swears. A candle flame moved towards him and a hand was placed on his shoulder. It was shaking violently. The owner of the hand was sobbing; Kevin even felt some of the tears splatter on his cheeks, "Kevin. I am sorry, there was nothing I could have done. Ashlee was… The necromancer got to her Kevin, I am so sorry."

Kevin's head reeled at the information, not quite sure how to react to the news. When Kevin came out of shock, he began crying. He turned around and buried his head in the pillow and was sobbing too. The people from the table came to surround him, all of their faces illuminated by the candles. A hand landed on Kevin's shoulder and someone said, "Gee Kevin, I can't help but feel responsible for this whole mess. I'm really sorry."

Kevin's eyes snapped open at the voice and spun around to see Axel, the Dark Hero staring down at him with sombre eyes. A young man with red hair and a young, blond haired woman were behind Axel. They both seemed unsure about what they should say.

Kevin rubbed his eyes and asked the Dark Hero, "Why, why do you feel the need to apologize? You didn't summon the Dead Hands or the necromancer that attacked us. Why should you feel guilty?"

Axel looked away and sighed. He turned his head back to look at Kevin. "Because, I work for Maleficent. Or at least, I used to. What she is doing now is sick. Even demons have standards, and this is way beyond what we would find acceptable."

The red haired teen punched the wall. "It's not right, Axel, you are right, but what are we going to do? Rozalin's guns aren't working, so trying to attack from a distance won't help. This Free Magic stuff is weakening our abilities, and making it impossible to stay coherent in a long, drawn out fight. We're out of options!"

Rozalin shook her head. "Adell, you would never give up. Don't even say that. You helped me learn that there is hope in any situation, no matter how bleak. Have you already forgotten your principles?"

"No, it's not that, it's just… Well, we are pretty damn screwed right now."

There was a loud slap, followed by another. Rozalin slapped Adell another time for good measure, or for shits and giggles. Whichever one fits best. "Adell, cheer up."

"Yeah, like it's easy to cheer up after getting repeatedly slapped"

"Well, you aren't supposed to be emo right now! It is almost always the main character's job to lose all hope when tragedy befalls him. Now cheer up and let Kevin be emo!"

"Uh… Fine?"

(A/N: In Disgaea, the characters often make cracks about clichés in anime, manga or video games. Or just about anything. Such as how the main character is going to be emo after bad things happen. It is a game made of epic win. And I encourage everyone to play it)

Kevin sighed and looked up, his tears were slowing down. "I don't have a heart, there is no way I could go emo. But even though I lack a heart, I can still feel emotions. Right now, my heart is Venxik. He wants me dead. But still, I know that my heart, the light inside of it, deep inside of Venxik is telling me to smarten up, and to save Ashlee. I have a feeling that she is still alive, and if she isn't, I will kill the necromancer that killed her."

He stood up and looked at Adell, who seemed pretty downcast still. Andrea and Tom gave him the thumbs up, Rozalin nodded at his speech, and the members of the HBRC were getting into action.

"Okay everyone! Get some provisions and supplies ready!" Leon yelled. Yuffie did a clumsy salute and did that while Aerith went to go get medical supplies. Merlin got a bag and was putting various objects in it. Some spell books, a few chairs and looked at a rather large, leather bound book on the table, unsure about what he should do with it.

Kevin was curious about the book, so he went to stand beside Merlin and see it. Andrea, Tom, Adell, Rozalin and Axel followed closely behind.

"Hey, Merlin, what book is that?" Kevin asked, looking at the black leather binding. Just staring at it gave him an ominous chill; yet, he couldn't look away from it.

"Oh, this book? It's the Book of the Dead. It is a very interesting book. It takes a necromancer to open it, and a skilled Charter Mage to close it once again. When opened, the reader gets plunged into Death, meaning it's the only place this book can be read. But because a Charter Mage and a necromancer will never work hand in hand, the book stays with the Abhorsen and is passed down through the generations. An Abhorsen is basically a combination of both necromancer and Charter Mage. What the job of the Abhorsen is; is to make sure the Dead stay in Death and that necromancers are watched, or killed if need be. When someone dies, it is an Abhorsen's duty to make sure the person's soul has a safe trip to wherever he or she may wind up, whether it is Heaven or Hell. An Abhorsen must fulfill this duty to any dead person, regardless of the unspeakable evils the person has committed his or her life to. The Abhorsen would still give even someone that kills thousands of people a safe passage through Death and to his or her afterlife. The spirits of his or her ancestors would persecute an Abhorsen that doesn't do this out of spite towards the person that died, and his or her punishment would be decided. It would always be severe.

Kevin nodded and said, "In a way, an Abhorsen is like a Keyblade Wielder. A Keyblade Wielder must make sure that people are safe from being turned into a Heartless, must destroy the Heartless and any other evil. Merlin, do you know about this Free Magic crap?"

Merlin nodded vigorously, "Oh yes I do. You see, when I was younger, I went to the Old Kingdom, the world that the Abhorsen lives on. There, I learned about Free Magic and how it affects the world. On normal people, those who don't have a Charter Mark, the Free Magic would do nothing but cause some light nausea, and painful headaches, which is what Axel, Adell and Rozalin were experiencing when they were fighting the Dead Hands. However, on a Charter Mage, Free Magic can choke the very life force out of them if it's powerful enough."

"So, what are a Charter Mark and a Charter Mage?"

Merlin tched and said, "Young man, you must be more patient. Charter Magic is a bound and more easily controlled version of Free Magic. For a Charter Mage, steeping themselves in the Charter would be the same as plunging yourself into a warm bath after a hard day's worth of work a hundredfold. Charter Magic is very powerful, if used right, it can even change the landscape or the weather to the person's will. A Charter Mage is a person that can use Charter Magic freely, and their level of ability is based on what kinds of marks they can use and how well they can control them. A Charter Mage has never been able to remodel the landscape, however. It is possible, but requires far too much strength. A Charter Mark is the mark a Charter Mage is blessed with at birth. With a Charter Mark, a person can experience Charter Magic, or even identify the Charter Marks on other people or objects. In the Old Kingdom, Charter Marks are everywhere, but outside of that world, they are far more rare. Now then, Kevin, I think you should talk to Leon. He has plans for everyone and everyone needs to be there to hear them."

Kevin said, "Yeah, thanks. I don't think I have any questions left. So, what are you going to be doing here?"

Merlin cleared his throat. "I will be staying here, with Cid and Aerith. Now, go and talk to Leon!"

Kevin sighed and walked to join the small group that surrounded Leon.

* * *

_Ugh, where am I? It's so dark. I can't see anything._

There was a crash and the sound of grinding bones.

_Ah! A Dead Hand! Where is it?_

The person tried to get up, but flopped back onto the ground. She was too weak.

_I can't move damnit! It reeks of Free Magic in here too. Where could I be? Is the necromancer still around? My eyes are open, and I can't see anything, so I can't be outside. Am I dead? Nah, I can't be. I'm breathing._

She racked her brain to try and remember what happened. Suddenly, it came to her.

_There was a knife coming down, aimed for Kevin's head. I kicked the man, making him trip, and the knife went into my throat, but how am I still alive?_

She voiced the question out loud softly. "How am I still alive?"

There was a dark laugh and a man stepped forward. "Child, I saved you before you died. While I am a necromancer and Free Magic sorcerer, I can still rely on the Charter to save people. I am keeping you hostage. Your pureblooded friend will be coming, and I need to remove his soul and use his corpse as a slave. You understand how it works, don't you? You seem to know a lot about us."

Ashlee coughed and said, "I won't let you do it! I will kill you myself and break out if I have to!"

The necromancer sneered at her comment and shouted, "You? Defeat me? Don't make me laugh! Ahahaha! If I wanted to, I could rip you apart and scatter you soul to the winds! You do not know my power!"

Ashlee sighed and let her head roll to the right. "You're right. But I know that you won't get away with this."

"You are very confident, young Charter Mage."

Ashlee snapped her head back to look at the blazing eyes of the necromancer and asked, "What did you just call me?"

The necromancer laughed, "You don't understand do you? You were blessed with a Charter Mark! That is the only reason you are so easily subdued by my Free Magic!"

He held a mirror in front of Ashlee. The only thing she could see was a faint, golden glow in the shape of an empty circle, there was a smaller pattern on the inside of it, but she could not describe it (nor can I).

"Tell me, do you know what this is?"

Ashlee looked away, realizing what it was.

"A Charter Mark?"

The necromancer laughed, "Yes! Yes it is! You are a Charter Mage! Do you want to know something special about your little boyfriend?"

"He is one too?"

"Yes, but not only that! He has the blood of the Great Charter flowing through his veins! With him as a servant, no one would question my authority!"

Ashlee sighed, "Typical villain."

"What was that, wench?"

"Typical villain. I said typical villain. And because you are typical, you will ultimately have your ass handed to you."

The necromancer grinned and shouted, "I, the great necromancer Hedge?! NEVER! AHAHAHAHAHA!"

Ashlee sighed and rolled over. _Typical villain._

* * *

"So, Squall, what is the big plan?" Yuffie asked Leon, who stood at the centre of the small people-circle.

Leon glared at the hyper ninja and addressed the group. "We are going to go together as a group. There will be no form of separation whatsoever. We all need to stick together. A thick fog has blanketed Radiant Garden to keep the sun from destroying and weakening the Dead that wander the streets. Also, if a man-shaped shadowy creature tries to attack you, avoid it at all costs and use magic on it. For those of you that can't use magic, sound the alarm. The Dead are all centred around one area, at the castle at the end of the long road that is connected to the bailey."

Everyone summoned his or her weapon, with the exception of Adell, Rozalin, Axel and Tom (who did not use a weapon, mostly fists and magic.) Kevin stood at the door while Leon and Yuffie held their backs to the wall on either side. Leon pushed open the door and silence met them.

A thick fog lay over the streets. It was so thick you could not see any more than five feet beyond you. Kevin looked at the fog and grinned. Easy thing to get a rid of. Kevin concentrated on the fog and moved his arms, and the fog parted with a light gust. The streets were empty. Kevin, using Andrea and Tom sent out a mental web to brush anything that wandered the streets. Kevin sighed in relief. Not only were there no Dead, there was a multitude of people huddled in a sealed off area. Kevin broke the connection and gave the all clear.

They filed out of the house, and looked around, trying to reassure themselves. Kevin looked around too, still not entirely sure that he was able to locate them all.

"Okay guys," He whispered, "there are absolutely no Dead in the streets. Actually, they seem to have moved to one spot to the north, past the bailey. All the people are huddled below ground at the shopping district. So, we should have a safe trip."

Leon nodded, "But that does not mean that you can be careless. Make sure that you can see the person next to you at all times, if you lose sight, say so in your mind, because we will all be connected telepathically. Also, this is the last time anyone will say anything out loud, unless he or she is being attacked without anyone else's knowledge."

They all gave their mental agreements and went on their way.

Like Kevin and Leon said, they ran into nothing before they reached the castle. Adell sighed and said mentally, _We made it. Phew._

Kevin experienced a strange feeling, like a gloom in the middle of his chest. It was a strange feeling, and nowhere near pleasant . He whipped his arms around and the fog covering the castle dispersed completely. Standing on the middle of the platform was a demonic looking creature. Liquid flames pouring out of its eyes and mouth, blackened, rotten flesh everywhere else. It was on all fours and let out a howl that sounded like a mix of a dog and a man screaming in agony at the same time. It lunged forwards at the group.

Yuffie whispered. "A Mordicant? No…"

Kevin struck it with a Thundara spell and ran to the side. With the beast's attention on him, he yelled, "Guys! Get going, I will catch up with you in a second!"

Andrea, Tom and Adell ran to his side.

"Like hell we're waiting for you." Andrea said, glaring at the older teen.

"Yeah, seriously, I would not let you have all the fun." Adell and Tom both said at the same time, causing them to glare at each other.

It howled again and several pitch black, humanoid figures fluttered down the sky to surround it. They seemed almost liquid somehow. The charged at the group, gliding along the ground. Yuffie and Leon yelled something, but Kevin and the people with him couldn't hear it.

There was a strange noise, and several creatures that seemed to wearing silver robes stood in front of them. The lead one, wearing a golden robes said, "Don't worry master, we will protect you." They each drew two swords and the creatures collided with the shadowy figures.

Leon came up to Kevin and shook him. "We need to go! The Nobodys have bought us some time."

Kevin looked at the older man and asked, "Those are Nobodys?"

"Yeah, they are Samurai, Nobodys that were strong willed as humans, so not strong enough to become human shaped like you guys. Now, let's go!"

Just as the golden robed Samurai tore one of the shadowy Dead in half, he turned to Leon and said, "I am sorry, Squall Leonheart, for the trouble the Samurai caused a year ago. We were misguided and lead by Xemnas. We won't follow that path again. I promise."

Leon gave a curt nod and led the group into the castle. The Mordicant jumped in front of them and pounced on Kevin and Tom, each forearm pinning them to the ground. It swivelled its head left and right to choose its first victim and began to move its head down on Tom, its fiery maw opening.

Kevin entered its mind and only heard a screech and saw flame. The Mordicant turned to face him and decided to eat his headfirst. How kind, but stupid. Tom raised his right arm and slammed it into the ground. A stone spike shot up and impaled the beast, and sent it up into the air. As it came down, Tom loosened the ground below its landing point and began to churn the rocks. It landed with a sickening crunch and the strange, gloomy feeling was lifted from Kevin as the rest of the shadowy Dead were destroyed.

Kevin panted, letting the air refill his lungs and grinned at Tom. "Why the hell did you not do that sooner, you bastard? I probably would not have gotten rotting flesh stuck in my clothes."

Andrea slapped him across the back of the head and growled in his ear, "That was probably the most homosexual thing you have ever said."

The golden robed Samurai as well as seven out of the ten Samurai approached them. All eight bowed before Kevin.

"You, the Nobody that wields the Keyblade. You are our master and the king of the Nobodys. Please, let us come with you on your journey."

Kevin was very much confused by the sudden speaking. "Uh, wait a moment. What do you mean by that? I am your king?"

"Yes, you are. Under normal circumstances, I would lead the Samurai, but now that a new Nobody has revealed himself and is human in shape, we will serve him without question." He looked at Andrea and Tom and said, "So, there are more of you?"

Kevin nodded. "Yeah, there are probably seven of us. Let's see here, me, Ashlee, Andrea, Tom, Xunahs' Nobody and Tahlia's Nobody, if she lost her heart and became a human-shaped Nobody and Heartless. Can you tell me your name?"

The Samurai said, "My name is Vice, I used to lead the Samurai Nobodys, but now that we know about you, we will serve you. So please, answer my question about whether or not we can accompany you."

Kevin mulled it over in his mind for a moment. "Yeah, I guess you can."

Vice stood up and bowed again. He handed Kevin a silver pendant that had the Nobody's symbol on it. Kevin remembered seeing a drawing Leon had produced for him back when he was first told about Heartless and Nobodys. Which had felt like an eternity before.

Vice bowed. "I am sorry, but I can't stay, I must go back home and deal with issues there. However, if you summon us using that pendant, we will come immediately."

Kevin nodded. "Thank you, Vice."

"You are welcome."

The Nobodys left and the other group walked into the depths of the castle.

* * *

Raynx, Xochitl, Axdrane and Maxjisne surrounded Xunahs. They looked gaunt and their eyes seemed empty.

"So," Xunahs said, "You are all here. I have a job for the four of you. It will be very big too. I hope you are all up to it."

The nodded slowly and he continued. "I want you to remain here. Something tells me Kevin will be arriving shortly. When he does, I want you to destroy him."

They nodded slowly and Xunahs left.

* * *

Ashlee's eyes once again darted around the room. Hedge had left, saying something about the interlopers finally arriving. Ashlee was trying to plan a route of escape. She summoned ten small blue flames that danced on her fingertips and watched as they crawled over her bindings, slowly burning them away. She stood up and rubbed her wrists and ankles. She slid off the table and heard the deep and commanding ring of the sixth bell. She froze and her eyes glassed over. She opened a portal and walked through it. Leaving Hedge alone in the room, cackling madly.

* * *

Author's Note: Like hell I would let everyone on Radiant Garden die off. The HBRC set up a large underground bunker that is completely impenetrable. Even a nuclear warhead would not be able to crack it. Why are there no Heartless wandering about? No clue. So don't ask me (well I do know, I just don't feel like telling you. So meh). Hedge is, as Ashlee put it, a "typical villain." He even goes as far as announcing his plans via shouting just like any evil overlord would do. Did this man not read the list? Apparently so. A Mordicant is a deadly and evil spirit brought back from Death and is the most powerful spirit that can be bound by a necromancer (meaning that there are far more powerful spirits that can't be bound. Hedge is one of them). A Mordicant has liquid fire dripping from every opening on its body due to the massive amounts of Free Magic that is used to bind it to the will of a necromancer. And huzzah for Vice living and saving Kevin's ass! (Huzzah!)

Second Note: School starts in about two-three days. Since this will be grade eleven for me, things will probably be a lot more constricting, homework wise, meaning that updates may become rare again. But, I will do my best to give you the same quality in chapters. If I can still move at a quick enough pace, this whole thing may end by December ..

Shadow Hand: A spirit brought back from Death. Unlike its counterpart, the Dead Hand, the Shadow Hand does not need a physical body to exist in Life. Instead, it is a black, malevolent spirit that can remove the soul from any living thing just by making physical contact with its flesh. (That is how three of the Samurai died) A mortal sword cannot defeat a Shadow Hand. Only through magic, or a spelled blade (as in a sword that is enhanced by magic.) can a Shadow Hand be vanquished.


	30. Ashlee?

Author's Note: CHAPTER FREAKING THIRTEH

* * *

Chapter 30: Ashlee?

"I see. So, the necromancer Hedge is making extraordinary process. He will have the last Keybearers dead by the end of the day. Why can't you be strong like him, Pete?"

The fat dog-man in question scuffed his foot on the cement floor and said, "Well, Maleficent, I don't know how ter summon the dead like he does."

She whipped around to face Pete; green fire was crawling upwards behind her. "You fool! You dare talk back to me?"

"Aw c'mon lady, he was just making his inferiority clear. There is no need to burn him. Literally."

Maleficent looked around the black room and finally yelled, "Who is that? Show yourself!"

A girl stepped out from the shadows and approached Maleficent. She sunk into the floor and popped up behind the witch and said, "I am a spirit of the darkness, you witch. My name is Halixat. I would suggest not trying to attack me, either. It wouldn't end too well in your favour."

Pete was shivering at the sudden appearance of the teenage girl. He straightened up, however when Maleficent gave her orders. "Pete, dispose of this pest!"

Pete threw a large bomb at the girl, who sank into the floor and appeared in front of Pete, holding a dagger at his throat. The silver of the blade caught the light given off by the explosion and Pete gulped, holding his hands in the air in surrender. A wide grin cracked his mouth open though as a bubble expanded from inside him, pushing Halixat back. Pete began to chortle as he began rolling forwards. The protective bubble bounced up as Pete rolled over Halixat. And then it bumped higher, and higher, and higher. On the last bounce, the bubble crashed into the ceiling and exploded. Halixat jumped up and delivered one more kick to the falling Pete, right where it counted.

To make things worse for the dog-man, Pete landed with his legs set 180 degrees apart from each other. He let out a strained, high-pitched groan and landed forwards, conking his head on the cement and effectively knocking him out cold. It took Halixat a few moments to take in all of this information and burst into spontaneous whooping laughter (A/N: feel lucky, because I almost typed "spontaneous song and dance," instead).

Maleficent glared daggers at the Heartless girl and said, "I will not be taken for a fool! If you want to fight me, I will not spare you."

Halixat giggled at the comment. "What? Me? Fight you? Nah, I just wanted to screw with some heads. Anyways, be on your merry way."

She left, leaving an obviously pissed off Maleficent behind.

* * *

Kevin glanced around the corridor that the group was situated in. All was dark and silent except for the odd drip of water. Leon leading the way, they found themselves in a big, square opening. A ball of fire flew from the ceiling and smote Leon in the chest and sent him flying back. Kevin glanced from where the fireball came from and shot a bolt of lightning. The attack hit its mark with a brilliant flash of light and someone fell to the floor.

A single, pale blue flame flickered into existence, and then nine more. They grew in size and merged, leaving two big flames. The person they were floating around jumped wordlessly into the air and sent the attacks straight at Kevin. A rock of wall came up and absorbed the attack and Kevin ran around it and smashed Vortex down on their assailant.

Vortex met steel and a loud clang filled the room. The steel became engulfed with the blue flame and their attacker's face was revealed. It was Ashlee.

Under other circumstances, Kevin's first reaction would be to jump back, fire a ball of lightning, and then charge at the person. Here, however, Kevin grabbed Ashlee in a hug and squeezed her tight. He pulled away and started sobbing. "Ashlee! You're okay! What happened to you? Did you escape?" He entered her mind and only one thought touched his mind, _KEVIN! RUN!_

He looked confused for a moment, but when he saw the flaming sword moving back to swing, Kevin immediately got what Ashlee was talking about and rolled out of the way. He spread out his wings and flew across the gap at Ashlee and Vortex collided with the unnamed sword with enough force to jar his arms. _What the hell? That was like trying to smash open a boulder!_

He spun away from her next attack and lifted himself off the ground by pumping the wings. _That is still very weird_. He thought whilst doing it. Now then, he was twenty feet above the ground. He was safe, right? Wrong. A streak of blue shot up at him and his legs felt very hot for a moment. He looked down to see what the heck happened and his right eye twitched and he almost cried again. _Holy hell that was close!_

The sword dislodged itself from the ceiling and fell down to Ashlee again. Kevin dropped along with it and flew at her again. When he got close enough, he tucked in his wings, did a barrel roll and kicked her hard in the back as he passed. She fell to the ground and he opened his wings to slow himself down. He landed and ran back at Ashlee, kicked her sword out of the way and a dome of stone came up and closed it in.

Kevin picked up Ashlee by the shoulders and looked at her eyes. They were completely blank. He entered her mind and asked, _Ashlee, what happened to you?_

I don't know! I was trying to escape when Hedge rang some sort of bell that put me under his control! I can't move by myself, I am a living puppet!

Kevin clenched his teeth.

_Do you have any idea how you can escape?_

_N—_Her thoughts were cut off and there was only silence.

_Ashlee? ASHLEE!_

A purple-black dome surrounded him and began crushing him into the ground. He could feel the very air being squeezed out of his lungs. He was trying his hardest to hold himself up. He began to sweat under the pressure and it seemed that the beads of sweat were breaking up the ground as they landed. Finally, his shoulders gave way and he collapsed onto the ground. He heard Andrea and Tom yell something, but the gravity spell did something to his hearing.

He turned around to see Ashlee with her sword in hand, her blank face staring down at Kevin and the sword held high up to strike his chest.

He closed his eyes and smiled serenely, _Why the hell is it that every time someone is going to die, a sword, or some other sharp, pointy object is held above the chest of the 'killee' just before he is going to die? My God, how cliché._

And, just to stay true to this cliché, a stone missile hit the sword and crumpled it. Ashlee fell back and through a portal.

Kevin struggled to stand up and flopped to the ground a few times. Finally, he got up after Andrea gave him a potion. He stood up and stretched, summoned Vortex and said, "Come on, let's go. I know where Hedge is now."

Without even waiting, Kevin opened his wings and sped off through the dark corridor. After the last turn, a wave of Free Magic and the stench of rotting flesh hit him. A hand grabbed his throat in a vice-like grip and began to crush. A gurgling growl (sorry) met his ears and the gurgling voice croaked, "Abhorsen…"

"Abhorsen?" Kevin choked, "Why is everyone calling me that? I am Kevin, the wielder of the Keyblade, nothing more, nothing less. Okay, maybe I'm hot, but that's about it."

He weakly moved his arms and he moved the water in the pipes surrounding him. He pushed harder and harder until he could hear the water rushing in them. He could hear a chorus of agonized screeches and he couldn't sense any more Dead. He charged against a door at the end of the hall to force it open. He entered the room and heard an echoing laugh. There was a light, tinkling bell ringing and Kevin felt like sleeping. He shook his head hard, trying to block out the magic song. He whistled as loud as he could, making a noise of the same pitch and the ringing ceased.

The laugh came again, "Is it possible that you are learning these things on instinct alone? First the running water, and then whistling to counteract the bell. I doubt you learned these things in the time between our last visit and now. Could you be learning as you go? I must study you further."

"Just tell me where you are, you bastard, and then you can study me all you want!" Kevin yelled.

"No, I'd rather play with my test subjects before I experiment. Nobodys seem to be able to learn how to do things faster than a normal human could. Is it, perhaps because you have no hearts to give you useless hindrance? If so, how can I use you to my advantage?"

There was a shift in the air next to Kevin and the voice whispered, "I know how I can use you to my advantage, child. You will be my undead minion!"

He pulled out a dagger and stabbed it into Kevin's arm. He cried out in pain and whipped around, punching the man in the face. Kevin healed his cut and punched the man again. He followed through with slicing Vortex down the length of Hedge's body.

Hedge laughed again and yelled, "Kevin, are you frustrated? Do you want Ashlee back? All you have to do is kill me!"

Kevin yelled, "Is that all? Just kill you? Well old man, I was really hoping for a challenge, but hey; when God gives you lemons, make lemonade."

He made the water in the pipes inside the room surge and there were more agonized screeches, the scent of Free Magic seemed to fade and the lights turned on. Kevin ran down an open corridor and stood on a catwalk with a clear glass bottom. The rest of the people caught up behind him, panting loudly, most of them clutching at their knees. Andrea and Tom came up to Kevin and saw Ashlee and an old man staring up at them from a platform hundreds of feet below. Kevin stepped back, grabbed Andrea and Tom by the hands and jumped off the platform. He dropped twenty feet and he corrected himself, opened his wings and began a steady glide to the bottom of the monstrous room. Ashlee turned around and left, leaving Hedge, Kevin, Andrea and Tom behind.

* * *

_Wha—What happened?_

Ashlee slowly opened her eyes and saw nothing but darkness. She could feel her hair whipping around her head and her close ruffling, and the wind blowing all around her from below. Was she falling? As she came to this realization, she began to stand up and her fall slowed. She touched grown with a light _tap_ and there was an explosion of light and colours.

"Ashlee. It is time."

Ashlee turned herself around several times, trying to find the voice. She couldn't find its source. Finally, she looked down. Her eyes widened and she whispered, "Wow."

* * *

Maleficent glanced down at the newest person to enter her chamber. This person however was expected. It was Ashlee. Hedge was planning to hold her captive until Kevin came so he could claim the Keybearer's powers. However, if Ashlee was sent to Maleficent, which would mean that Hedge was going to lose the fight and that, his plans had gone awry.

Ashlee stared blankly up at the witch. Maleficent peered into her eyes, believing she could read the girl's soul (typical villains do that sort of thing). However, Maleficent was totally oblivious of what was taking place inside Ashlee.

"So, young witch, you are coming here under the influence of Hedge. What did he want me to do for you? Raise you for my own? Or use you as a hostage to attract the Keybearer?" Ashlee closed her eyes, groaned and fell over. There was a pulse of heat and something formed in Ashlee's hand, but it quickly vanished again. This small and strange phenomenon caught the full attention of Maleficent.

"I see. Hedge, did you see this coming?"

Hedge raised his arms and laughed triumphantly. "You three? You are the only ones to challenge me?! Fine! I shall show you the error of your ways! Come, my Mordicant!"

There was a terrifying screech and a giant black blur leapt up from behind the ledge and onto the platform. There was yet another Mordicant, this one was bigger and more sinister than the last one. Tom grinned at the fire spewing Greater Dead.

"Is that it, just some beastie? Remembered what happened last time? Crunch, that is what happened last time, crunch," He said.

Hedge returned the grin; he was lacking any and all teeth. "So, would you be willing to wager your eternal freedom on this 'beastie' being crunched?"

Kevin sighed, looking at Tom and then Hedge and said, "Sorry, devil dude, no wagering our immortal souls right now."

"And, why are you so lax, Keybearer?" Hedge asked, Kevin.

Kevin grinned at the question and replied, "Because, I am a Nobody. I don't have to display emotions if I don't want to. I have emotions, but, I can control them a lot better than your average teen male."

Hedge cocked his head to the right in mock interest and asked another question, "So, if you aren't really annoyed right now, then how can you say you like Ashlee? You don't seem the slightest bit angry."

Kevin smiled serenely, but his eyes were open and told a story much more different than his lips. "Oh, you really didn't listen, did you? I can feel emotions; I can choose whether or not to display them. I would assume playing poker with a bunch of Nobodies would be the hardest thing you could ever do, but to sum it up, necromancer. I am pissed."

Kevin summoned Vortex, Andrea summoned Frost and a swarm of jagged stones surrounded Tom.

"Andrea, Tom, take the Mordicant, I will deal with Hedge." Without getting their confirmation, Kevin ran and jumped over the Mordicant, landing square on Hedge's shoulders. He did a back flip off and kicked Hedge across the face, landed on his hands, propelled himself off the ground, landed behind Hedge and struck him in the middle of the old man's spine with the heel of his hand. He followed through by gripping the man's shoulders, rolling backwards and flinging him over the edge.

Kevin walked over the edge and was about to make his one witty comment that would seal the deal, but was cut off when a deep bell rang. For some reason, the sound filled Kevin with sorrow. He could feel himself getting cold, and blacked out momentarily. He opened his eyes to see water rushing all around him, with Hedge standing triumphantly before him.

"Boy, can you defeat me in _my_ domain?!"

Kevin stood up weakly at first; he clutched at his forehead and groaned. There was a loud roar, like that of a waterfall and the water sped up, grabbing Kevin by the ankles and pulling him under. He concentrated on the water and pushed himself back up. He was amazed by how much effort it took. The current slowed down considerably and Kevin was standing straight up, facing a twisted version of Hedge.

This man was a human-shaped Free Magic flame. There was nothing left of his human body besides the shape. And even that was at least two feet bigger than it should be. Kevin was now curious by he affects this place had on the human body. He looked down at himself to see what he looked like. No changes whatsoever. He kicked at the water and mumbled, "Well, this sucks."

He held Vortex in front of him. No Vortex though, just empty air. He tried summoning the Keyblade, but it didn't come. Kevin dropped his hand and groaned.

"Well, this sucks even more."

* * *

Xunahs paced around at the bottom of the giant crevasse in End of the World. He smashed his foot into the ground, making a small puff of the material that made up the world float up into the air.

"So, Xunahs, did you think I could be disposed of so easily? You caught me in a moment of weakness. Such a weak spell was easy to break though. You really should try harder than that." A steel blade stretched across the crevasse and completely removed Xunahs' left arm.

It disappeared in a puff of smoke and reformed back where it came off. He turned around and snarled at the attacker. His snarl became a look of joy and said, "So, Raynx, it is you. I am actually quite surprised. Being taken down by a spider of all things."

Raynx glared at the younger Heartless, "The thing was the size of a freaking car! Not only that, but it caught me off guard."

"Or it caught you in arachnophobia."

Raynx glared. "Nope, actually, for some reason, having a huge night crawler that resembles a spider sneak up on you in a pitch black cavern with a near godly man in the middle of it doesn't seem to help you out in a fighting situation."

Xunahs rolled his eyes and said, "Of course bro, whatever you say. Now then, mind telling me why you lobbed off my arm?"

Raynx was happy to oblige, "Well, Xunahs. I kinda want my lackeys back. Nothing personal, I just want them back with me. Okay?"

Xunahs grinned and said in a drawling tone, "If you can force them away from me."

Raynx once again happily obliged and ran across the gap, easily jumping across any of the ledges. Dreggan clashed with Xunahs' twin swords mid-air. Raynx, with Dreggan caught in between the two swords in an X-formation extended the blade, making it shoot right through Xunahs' neck.

The younger Heartless fell over, clutching at his throat. He tried to heal the wound, but the gap wouldn't close. Xunahs tried to figure out a solution and in his panic, completely forgot the reason. The sword was still in his throat. Xunahs was being suffocated.

The Heartless was gasping silently and finally, faded away. Raynx watched as the darkness dispersed and moved away. Since the heart wasn't released, Xunahs was going to be reformed some distance away. Raynx sighed and called the others.

* * *

Andrea and Tom jumped away from the Mordicant's charge and both attacked its flanks. The monster screeched in annoyance as the attacks hit, but there were no markings from the combined attacks. It turned around and stampeded towards Tom. He got out of the way but the Greater Dead got wise to the evasion tactic. It turned sharply to the right and smashed into Tom head-on.

The young stone thrower was knocked back, but stopped his flight as the monster gripped his waist with its rotting jaws. Tom felt his legs getting hot as the internal flame of the beast assaulted his body. Andrea came out of nowhere and decapitated the monster with Frost and Tom landed on the floor and rolled out of the dead mouth. He grabbed Andrea in a bear hug but something didn't feel right.

He looked down and back up at Andrea, who began looking down, but Tom held her head with his hand so that she was looking at his face. It was quite crimson to say the least. There was a slight rumble and his lower body became surrounded by earth.

"Good God, that was a fun fight, was it not Andrea? Especially the part where I was in the clutches of a mutant zombie? Oh yes it was!"

Andrea looked confused. Pieced everything together, and nearly fainted on the spot. Tom's face became crimson and he cried, "Dear God no! Andrea! No! I had boxers! They were just… They had pink hearts everywhere!"

Andrea glared at Tom, a glare that would kill if looks could kill. Which they don't. She smashed his cheek with the heel of her palm and said, "Pervert." In such an even tone, that Tom could have sworn that he wet himself.

* * *

Kevin's pity fest caused the water to tighten its grip once again, and Kevin was pulled under. He pushed himself back up, this time, he used less energy, and he watched as Hedge struggled against the current, the roar of the waterfall got louder. Kevin grinned with the satisfaction of learning the way this river ticked. He tried to open his wings. Yep, they were there. He grinned contentedly and soared into the air. Five feet below him was Hedge.

"So, Hedge, mind explaining what this place is to me?"

Hedge had righted himself and said, "This is the river of Death! The place the spirits of the dead go."

Kevin grinned and said, "I thought as much. Now then, I am going to guess that this river works based on the strength of whoever is in it. So let's say someone was in the river and very depressed. The river would speed up, right?"

Hedge didn't reply, but Kevin got an affirmative from the necromancer's mind.

Kevin grinned even wider. "Well, in that case… You are about to deal with some massive angst my friend."

Because Kevin was terrible at crying at will, he did the next best thing. He poked both of his eyeballs to get a fresh line of tears and began his emotional tirade.

"My life sucks! My home is gone and my family is gone! Here I am in the river of Death, meaning I am dead! It isn't fair that I had to die and my family and friends get to live on, even though they are a bunch of Heartless!" By now, Kevin was beginning to get slightly upset too, and the river was picking up pace and Hedge was furious.

"Why is it that everyone I try to help winds up dieing? Even people I meet are dieing! Tahlia's dead, half of the people in Radiant Garden are dead, Meggie, Mo and everyone else from Inkheart would be dead too! Who will die on me next? Will it be Ashlee, ooh, maybe Tom, or maybe Andrea? I can't live like this! I deserve to die!"

The river finally felled the necromancer and Kevin curled up into a ball and began to sob silently until the waterfall claimed Hedge. Kevin grinned and straightened up. The tears stopped flowing and he was perfectly happy again.

"Once again, being a Nobody freaking rocks."

He landed in the water and looked around. There had to be a way out. Maybe he should try running in the opposite direction of the waterfall? That may be a good start.

Just as his feet pulled out of the water, the current sped up tremendously and he almost got dragged away. Kevin quickly realized how dangerous it was, and it was hard to maintain magic, so flying wouldn't be his best bet. He ran slowly, kicking the water instead of jogging in it. The closer his feet were to something they could grip, the better.

He moved for about five minutes in the same shambling run and felt warmer, and could hear voices. One of them was Tom saying something about heart-speckled boxers. Kevin grinned and said, "That's hot," as he continued shambling. Andrea smashed Tom's face and turned around to see Kevin, who had small shards of ice falling off of him.

"Well!" He said, stretching as far as he could. "Hedge is gone. Let's go find Ashlee."

* * *

Author's Note: Mwahahaha. Angst. Anyways! I was planning on making someone have a guest appearance, but I thought about it and decided he could stay put and not be used, sorry owner that was expecting appearance of OC. Another thing. Chapter 31 will involve a tragedy so big, you might have to hug the closest person to you so that you can feel better after it happens. Don't worry; I will not make this an angsty fic. Okay, I might if I get a lot (A LOT) of money. Raynx is not out of the picture yet, at all. Actually, he is and was and will be far from it. –smile-


	31. Lord Ire

Chapter 31: Closing In

Kevin watched the rain splatter the streets of Radiant Garden. There were also strong winds. Normally, the weather was really calm. When he asked Aerith, she explained that it was the life stream removing the corrupting Free Magic from its surface. The rain had started about an hour ago and was coming down hard and fast. Kevin sighed and smiled happily. Storms had a soothing effect on him.

Tom glanced at Kevin as a streak of lightning filled the darkened sky. He looked back at Andrea, who was seated next to him on the couch of Merlin's house. "Does he normally look so happy during a storm?"

Andrea giggled lightly and said, "Yeah, he does. He likes watching the rain fall and the wind howl. His most favourite part is the thunder and lightning, however." Almost as if he was proving her point, Kevin cheered as another bolt of lightning lit up the room. "He is pretty odd. But then again, I love the snow more than any form of weather. Okay, wind is pretty awesome, but snow is just so beautiful."

Tom gulped and said, "Yeah, just like you are."

Andrea grinned and grabbed him in a headlock, ruffling his hair. "You know what, Tom? That was probably the most corny thing I have ever heard you say!"

Tom laughed and pushed her off and they began to wrestle on the couch.

(A/N: Wrestle, as in fighting. Not whatever sick things you people are thinking of. –glare-)

Kevin watched as Leon, Yuffie and Axel approach the house. Leon opened the door and the three filed in. Adell looked up from the computer Cid was busily working on. Since power was restored shortly, Cid was doing a full systems check to make sure everything was in order.

"So, how're things going with the outside world now?" Adell asked conversationally.

Yuffie smiled widely and said, "The Dead are all well… Dieing, the rain and strong winds are disintegrating their magical bindings and the people will be going back to their homes once we make sure everything is clear. We will be going back out after a thirty-minute break. Where's Rozalin?"

Adell pointed his thumb at the stairs that lead to the second floor. "She's having a shower. She is removing the dirt and grime she was covered with. Apparently, being around commoners can do that to her."

Cid looked up at Adell and growled, "I just hate those pompous princess types."

Kevin looked over at Cid and said, "Well, I think that it is only fair for her to act like that. According to what both her and Adell have said about their home and their family, Rozalin was treated like a princess, getting everything she desired. Her father was the only thing she never met though, making her feel pain and loneliness. She was then taught by her private tutors that everyone else that isn't royalty, as in someone related to her by blood is dirt and filth. After a while, she started to realize that it wasn't true. She finally met her father, who told her that what being surrounded by her friends is wrong and that his teachings were correct. She believed him, and then he ordered the execution of her friends. She felt rejected and ran away with Adell. Once they escaped from her father, their world was gone and her father, for all she knows will never be with her again. So, Cid, tell me, would that not make her be a bit annoying?"

Adell, and the rest of the people gaped at Kevin. "How the hell did you know all of that?! We never told anyone anything!" He cried.

Kevin grinned and said, "Well, Adell. I can read minds, so I decided to enter yours to tell whether or not you guys were actually on our side or not. You can't just trust a man's word. Only their heart can tell you the truth."

Tom grinned at Andrea. "And you said I was corny." He said.

She nodded. "Yep, and you still are, you huge ass cornball, you."

They fought each other, trying to be the first to noogie the other.

Soon, everyone's activities returned to normal.

* * *

-An hour earlier-

Ashlee looked around the room. Under her feet was a giant, violet stained-glass platform. In a huge circle was everyone she knew. People from Twilight Town, her parents (both biological and adoptive), Kevin, Andrea, Tom, Jasmine, Roxas and both Axels, Adell, Rozalin, Rose and the HBRC, Everyone was there. In the centre of the planets stood two girls. The first one was obviously herself but the other one was strange. It was almost a dark and evil version of her.

Three stone pedestals rose from the ground. Each one held a different weapon. A sword, a shield and a staff. Ashlee looked at them and the voice spoke. "You who has lost her heart to the darkness, you have been chosen to wield the weapon that will destroy the ones that took away your home and family."

Ashlee was a bit dazed. "You mean, the Keyblade? But why would I get a Keyblade? I don't have a heart or anything!"

The voice took on an almost parental tone. "Yes, we know that, young one, yet you are worthy. Even though you lack a heart, you follow it. Just like Kevin and Andrea, you are still connected to your heart."

Ashlee put her hand to her chest and muttered, "Still connected to my heart?" She looked up and asked, "But how? I don't even know where my heart is! For all I know, my heart could be dominating the universe as we speak!"

"No, your heart isn't dominating the universe. If anything, it is witnessing what is taking place. The darkness that surrounds your heart is not yours. Nor is the darkness of Kevin's heart. All Heartless are embodiments of the heart. However, if we are correct in our assumptions, terrible things may happen in the near future because of our ill thought out plans. I dread the situation you and your friends are being thrust into." The voice replied, sounding a bit more serious.

Ashlee looked up and asked, "What do you mean by that?"

"You will learn in time, young one. Now choose."

Ashlee walked to the staff and picked it up.

* * *

Tom gaped at the scene before him. He looked at the drying red liquid on the wall outside and the person slumped below it. He let out a scream, "THIS IS HORRIBLE! WHO COULD HAVE DONE SUCH A THING?!"

Tom stared in horror at the red liquid on the wall, and then at the body. His face became pale and he vomited.

Kevin glanced up at the wall and patted Tom's shoulder comfortingly. "There, there, let it all out. That is awful, what that person did. Poor Andrea."

Under other circumstances, the strong winds would have made Kevin feel better, but what had taken place in the bailey was far beyond anything Kevin had ever experienced before.

Tom looked up and asked, "But how, how did this happen? Who would be sick enough to do such a thing?"

Kevin shook his head. "I don't know, but whoever did, is going to pay."

Behind them someone said, "Pay? Who is going to pay?"

* * *

Ashlee had easily proven herself worthy during the minor trials that lead up to this final round. She stared up at the giant Heartless that was trying to pound her. Luckily for her, even with gravity pulling on its massive hands, Darkside couldn't hit her. The fist smashed into the ground, creating a shockwave that Ashlee dispersed with a quick fire spell and she leaped onto the fist, impaling it with the crimson Keyblade in her hand. Its crossguard was a flame. The blade itself was the tip of the flame elongated and at the tip of that flame was a sun.

She grinned as the Keyblade, known as Corona slid through the black fist with ease. She held on tight as the giant Heartless tried to throw her off. It stopped after a moment and held her in front of its chest, where a ball of darkness was beginning to form. She ripped out Corona, ruthlessly removing a large chunk of hand with it. The pain caused by this action caused the attack made by the giant Heartless stop.

Ashlee took that as her chance and jumped up at the black head, smashing it repeatedly. The uninjured fist bashed her away and a group of shadows swarmed her when she hit the ground. She let a wall of fire wash over herself and her attackers, destroying them all instantly and rolled out of the way of one of its punches. She jumped up and a pale blue whip appeared in her hand. She wrapped the end of the whip around Corona's crossguard and spun it like a giant saw, the bottom half of the arm was no more.

She spun it even faster and released, Corona flew like a spear through Darkside's head and it vanished in a puff of black smoke.

Corona came back to her and she asked tauntingly, "Is that all?"

"Well done, Ashlee. You are more than worthy."

The darkness faded and turned into light. She closed her eyes to protect them from the brilliance and opened them when the light dimmed enough. She looked up and through a crystal barrier up at the rafters above her head. She tried to move, but was completely immobile.

Maleficent peered in at the prison Ashlee was in and said, "So, I see you are awake. Now my plans will come to fruition!"

Ashlee looked up at the witch. She glared with annoyance and spoke, but her words were completely blocked off by the barrier. Maleficent had an amused grin and she said, "Those chambers are soundproof from the inside. You can hear my every word, but I won't hear any of yours."

_Okay, fine, Maleficent. So, how will my presence bring your plans to fruition? I mean, maybe if I was a Princess of Heart, but I am not. So! Please do explain._

Maleficent looked surprised for a moment. She quickly regained her composure and said, "So, I assume this means you can enter people's minds at will. Interesting. You may be useful enough for my plans."

_Huh, what do you mean by that?_

Maleficent cackled and brought her staff high above her head. "Steep yourself into the darkness!"

A dark mist enveloped Ashlee and Maleficent continued, "Do you feel the darkness overwhelming your heart, child? You will be a Heartless in no time!"

Ashlee yawned and looked up at Maleficent through the transparent chamber.

_I will be a Heartless in no time? Good luck with that. You are even more annoying than Hedge. Good God, what is it with you villains and using your sin against nature powers to control people? Maybe if you could persuade me to join you by speaking and not trying to use dark powers over me, I would be more than happy to help you out._

Maleficent ignored Ashlee and left, leaving Ashlee alone in the dark fog that enveloped her. She summoned Corona and looked at it, thinking to herself, _Well, it seems that you weren't just a dream. What does this mean?_ Corona hummed and a warm light filled the chamber, completely enveloping and removing the darkness inside. She would have tried to use the Keyblade to bash open her small prison, but there wasn't enough space to do it in.

_I guess I am just going to have to play the waiting game. _She thought as Corona disappeared from her hand.

* * *

Tom turned around and gasped tackled the intruder to the ground and screamed, "Don't look! Don't look!"

Kevin looked at who Tom had tackled to the ground and cried, "Oh good God! Andrea! Crap!" He and Tom switched positions and he said, "Destroy that wall, quick!"

Andrea, who was pinned under Kevin, was very confused, but even more irritated. She wiggled her right arm free and punched Kevin hard in the chin and pushed him off. She stood up and looked at the wall. She paled and nearly vomited just like Tom did.

On the wall, in dark red spray paint, was a deformed drawing of Andrea, holding a paddle. There was a text bubble above her head that read, "I R ANDREA! I SPANK TEH TOM HARDCORE!"

Underneath the doodle was a mannequin that was crumpled and fallen over, probably due to the storm that was still ravaging the world. Only five feet away from it was a paddle. Andrea dashed past Tom and looked at it. On its red plastic, something was written in black: "For Tom's ass only."

The now howling winds seemed to be nothing in comparison to the fury in Andrea's expression. She raised the plastic paddle up high and threw it like a shuriken, where it hit right in between the legs of Tom. His own expression was priceless as he fell over, groaning and protecting his groin from further assault. Those hands didn't work however, when Andrea kicked them as hard as she could.

She was about to go in for a second attack when Rozalin pulled her away and Adell came to help Tom up. Kevin approached the small gathering and massaged his chin. For some reason, massaging his chin made him feel more worried than soothed. He abruptly stopped and asked, "Andrea, why the heck did you do that?"

"Look at what he did!" She shrieked, pointing at the large drawing of herself on the wall. Suddenly, she came to another conclusion. "And you helped him, you sickening bastard!" She tried to launch herself at Kevin, but Adell blocked her off.

"Listen, Andrea. We didn't do that it was someone else. I mean sure, I can fly and Tom can move stones around, but it would be too hard for the both of us to pull something off like that. Now then, hug Tom and tell him you are sorry. I would have asked you to kiss his 'boo-boos', but I don't think any of us need to see that right now." Kevin said.

The sky outside was getting dark, it was around seven PM, and the storm clouds were making the sky even darker. The lightning had stopped and the rain had become much lighter. Adell and Rozalin had insisted on coming because they wanted to get at Maleficent for what she had done. Axel, along with the HBRC was staying behind. No one from the house really knew that the group of five was up to, however.

Kevin healed Tom's injuries, keeping his hands a respectable five feet away from the injured area. He then proceeded to fix the popped blood vessels from Andrea's punch, as well as her knuckles. He grabbed a loaf of bread, tore a piece off and drank some juice to help rebuild his energy. They began their walk down the path that would lead them to Maleficent's hideout.

* * *

Xunahs returned once more before Venxik. "I will fight you and win this time!" The younger Heartless declared.

Venxik rolled his eyes and said, "Okay, whatever. Maybe this time I will just let you die."

Venxik felt something tap his mind and a voice entered his mind. The voice was almost identical to the one the man that Venxik made a deal with several months ago for Xunahs to be raised by the man. Immediately, Venxik understood and completely blocked out the voice.

"So! That's who you are? Oh God! This is too good to be true!" Venxik cried. He disappeared and reappeared behind Xunahs and grabbed him by the scruff of the neck. Darkness poured out from the younger Heartless and into him. After that happened, Venxik had an experience that was simply amazing. His mind had somehow entered Xunahs' own mind. Xunahs wrenched himself from Venxik's grip, turned around and slashed a stunned Venxik cleanly in two.

Venxik's two halves rejoined at the wound and he stood in place as if nothing had happened. He cracked his knuckles. "I see, so that's how you do it then. Just simply say those two magic words and you are brought back together again. I can only imagine the strain it puts on you, though. He stretched out his hand and Xunahs snapped into attention. Venxik waved his hand around and Xunahs deftly followed. Venxik made his palm face down and smashed it into the ground as hard as he could.

Xunahs floated back up, with a crushed nose and a broken jaw. Venxik thrust his hand backwards and Xunahs flew at him. Venxik lifted the hand that wasn't controlling Xunahs and smashed him as hard as he could in the chest with his palm. Several ribs broke and Xunahs spat blood on Venxik. He tried to heal by saying the words mentally, but was cut off.

_Sorry, prince. No can do._ Venxik said mockingly. He ripped at Xunahs' mind and the Heartless mentally screamed in agony. The agonized scream would have paralysed any other person, but Venxik smiled. He relished the sound. _So,_ Venxik said conversationally, _someone that had previously tried to overpower me has arrived. You are a fool for even thinking you could have pulled it off. Well, good riddance._

He closed his hand and Xunahs seemed to have almost imploded in the middle. He fell to the ground as Venxik released his grip on purpose. As Xunahs was beginning to rejoin and make his escape, Venxik glared down at him and said, "This is a warning. Do not come back."

Xunahs glared and the rest of him dissolved and reformed. He turned around to leave, but Leashex cut him off. She smiled sweetly at him and said, "Well. Now I know it was you that got your blood all over my clothes. I was letting Maxjisne borrow that dress while I fixed hers up a bit. I hope you are happy buddy, I like my dresses very much." Chaos and Anarchy appeared in her hands.

Leashex calmly stared at Xunahs and said, "Bitch. You are going to get it."

* * *

Kevin and the other four people got to the small area that Demyx and Sora had fought in the year before. Kevin looked around and heard someone yell, "Stop! I can't let you pass!"

Axel jumped down from the cliff and slipped on a puddle caused by the rain. He fell backwards, but was held up by a woman with a large chest. Kevin and Tom had nosebleeds at the sight. Andrea smacked both of their heads with Frost. Axel righted himself and a group of people jumped down behind him, none of them slipping like he did.

"Like I said guys, none of you are allowed to pass. Leon already knew you guys were planning on it, but right now it would be very stupid. See that giant crater over there?" He pointed way off in the distance, where there was a black hole in the ground, mostly everything around it was black due to the dark sky. "The town's flood controlling system was supposed to suck up the water that got in there. However, some tampering happened to the system and it is now a giant lake. The water level is slowly rising and I need to take you back to Leon's. If you won't come, I will have to take you by force."

Several men with long, sinister lances and a few of the large chested women surrounded the group. Kevin was prodded in the behind by one of the lances and he yelped, whirled around and grabbed the lance. Water rose off the ground and encompassed the man and lance. Kevin let out a small spark and the man did a strange dance and fell over, but still alive.

Andrea dashed at two of the women and took them on by herself. Frost flew through the air gracefully and bounced off the blades of the two women with a shower of sparks. Two of the men joined in to try and help fend off Andrea, but they couldn't, seeing as how they sank into the ground so that only their heads were visible. The two women tripped over the men and fell backwards. Adell punched a man in the face and grabbed his arm. He spun the man around like a weapon, knocking over several other fighters while Rozalin shot the opponents with her guns.

A bright purple light enveloped each of the warriors and they disappeared. Axel sighed and said, "Fine. I know when to quit. I will be back though, count on it."

He struck a heroic pose and ran off. Kevin cocked an eyebrow and asked Adell, "Is he always like that?"

Adell drooped his head and muttered, "Oh yeah, all the time. I have handed his ass to him enough times to learn that much about him."

Rozalin harrumphed and swished her hand around. "Axel just wants attention, that is all there is to it. He can't fight on his own, so he sends in his people to do the dirty work and then takes all the glory afterwards."

"Ah, so he's THAT kind of person." Kevin said.

Andrea broke into their conversation and pointed at Rozalin, yelling "You killed those people! You shot them in the _head_!"

Adell looked at Andrea confusedly and said, "What are you talki—OH! That! Rozalin didn't kill anyone, Andrea."

"Quite true." Rozalin said, cutting in. "You see, people from our world can't truly die unless they aren't in an official battle. When a person loses all their health, they get sent to the base panel, merely knocked unconscious. So, let's say I were to initiate an "official battle" right now and shot Kevin in the chest repeatedly, smashed his skull in with a spiked hammer and castrated him, he would come back after the battle and it would be like nothing happened."

Kevin paled at the thought of such a grisly death. "Well, we aren't going to try that now, are we?"

Tom snatched Rozalin's gun and held a stone hammer in the other hand. He grinned evilly at Kevin. "Maybe we should try a test run, just to be safe."

Kevin ran back and yelled, "Oh hell no!"

Rozalin grabbed the gun from Tom and aimed it for his forehead. "Indeed, maybe we should try. Afterall, we wouldn't want people dieing needlessly."

Tom joined Kevin and Andrea followed lazily, shaking her head.

"Just what we need, a world full of freaks." Adell groaned. Both he and Rozalin joined the other three and they began their journey down the path.

Ashlee was sweating profusely and her mouth was opening and closing, trying to suck in air.

_God Damnit, Maleficent forgot airholes! How the hell am I supposed to survive? Okay Ash, think… Think, what would I do besides whither away into nothingness? Make a portal. I would make a portal and fall through it. I read Maleficent's memories and one of them happily told me that these were used to hold the princesses. This one in particular held Kairi, Kevin's friend. So, they shouldn't be able to stop portals from being made._

She opened a portal and plopped on top of the roof of the capsule that was her prison cell. She wiped her forehead and thought,_ Phew! Any longer and I would have been vacuum-sealed!_

The four Defender Heartless surrounding her cell turned their attention to her and their shields made menacing growls. She summoned Corona and grinned.

"You guys picked the wrong time to pick a fight with me."

She jumped in the air and landed on the back of one of the Heartless and stabbed Corona through its armoured head. It collapsed and a small pink heart floated away. She twirled around, slicing two of the others in half. The fourth was smart and fled.

She harrumphed and looked up at a large, multi-coloured heart-shaped hole in the wall behind a strange altar. She saw a bunch of tentacles sticking out of it, feeling the air. They froze and turned towards her and flew in a b-line at her. She rolled to the side and sliced one of the dark arms, and watched it recoil. She jumped away from another that got close and shot a ball of fire at it.

She jumped and nimbly dodged the tentacles, cutting down any that got too close, but she stopped when someone blocked her path. The dark tentacles stopped too. She turned around to face the person blocking her.

"Who… Who are you?" She asked nervously.

The person looked down at her and smiled broadly. "Little Keyblade wielding whelp, I am your worst nightmare. I am Lord Ire." He looked up at the black tentacles that were reaching out at Ashlee and looked down again, "Are these friends of yours?" He looked back up again, his black, scaled mouth curled into a frown. "Those tentacles. I think I have seen them somewhere before."

He brushed Ashlee aside with his strong tail and stepped into the writhing mass of tentacles. One of them ventured too close and a black flame enveloped it, causing an unearthly screech to come from the back of the long hall. The tentacles pulled back and Ire laughed. "Come now, Tomb Master. Is that any way to treat an old friend?" He jumped in the air above the mass of tentacles and held his right hand up. A black cloud formed over it and lightning came down, cutting through the tentacles.

He landed softly and watched them retract. He turned back to Ashlee and sighed. "Maleficent really needs to know when to weed her garden. How the hell did Tomb Master of all things get here?"

"I AM EVERYTHING. I AM THE SCOURGE OF THE UNIVERSE. I AM THE SHIELD OF THE UNIVERSES SECRETS."

Ire's scaly lips twitched into an annoyed smile and he said, "For the love of… This damn Heartless has not changed one bit. Now then, Tomb Master… Tell me, who the hell sent you here?"

"VENXIK. BANE OF LIGHT."

Ire looked confused for a moment and began laughing. "What a cute name. Some halfwit megalomaniac sent you? Have your standards dropped so low? Before you followed the will of the universe, now you are following a mere Heartless?"

"SILENCE, HERETIC. DISBELIEVER OF THE HEAVENS, I WILL NOT ALLOW SUCH VILE THINGS TO BE SAID ABOUT THE GOD OF THE UNIVERSE."

Ire looked up at the tentacles. They stretched all the way to the other end of the hall. Inside the room where the world's keyhole was located lay the body of Tomb Master. Ire decided to play with the Heartless a bit more. "So, that is the case, is it? You were brainwashed? I never liked you anyways, so I am glad to know that you will die, and by my own hands, no less."

* * *

Author's Note: Chapter 31 comes to a happy end! Woot! Too much to sum up, I think Author's Notes will only be used for important crap (only) Also, character bios will be included with a special chapter for the end of the story, if such things are allowed.


	32. The Assassin Brothers Plus One

Chapter Thirty-Two: The Assassin Brothers (Plus one)

* * *

Lord Ire danced and weaved in and out of the tentacles. Slicing any off that got close enough to make contact with his draconic body. He jumped in the air and light flashed all around him. A tall, slim dark skinned figure with deep brown hair floated in his place and landed nimbly on the ground, darting even faster between the black limbs.

He got onto the altar and the limbs all shot back into the Heartless symbol portal. A lone man stepped out and said, "So, you must be Lord Ire, or Pretender. How many names does one man need?"

Pretender glanced up at the man and said, "I don't know. You don't seem to need any. After all, you haven't introduced yourself."

The man grinned and unbuttoned his black trench coat a bit, revealing the Heartless symbol on his chest. His hair was jet black, and his smile was menacing. "My name is Rould. I also have many names, one of which you would recognize. I have traversed time; half of the universe's evil beings throughout history are really different aliases for me."

Lord Ire squinted at the man, "Rould, I don't know. I probably do, but I don't. So, explain yourself. What are you doing here?"

Rould laughed and for some reason, the sound unnerved Ire. Ashlee, who was progressing up the stairs, froze in place. "I am here to make sure Tomb Master back there doesn't run away. I need to make sure the seal on the Keyhole is shattered. Venxik learns so fast." Rould said, shaking his head. Ire frowned. Was there pride in the man's voice?

"I am here, Rould to pick up Ashlee. Maleficent needs her, and I was planning on settling an old score with Tomb Master over there."

Rould stretched his arms out and laughed, "What? You are still mad at that pathetic Heartless for telling you the truth? He was right when he told you that you would never usurp Wulder in his throne. Wulder is, after all, the creator of the universe, according to the people of Amara."

Ire scowled and roared, "I am the rightful master of all worlds! Don't you dare belittle my authority, old man!"

He reached a hand down inside his jacket and pulled out a thin, long sword. Its steel reflected the colour made by the gateway, giving the room a sickly hue to it's already run down appearance.

Rould did the same, pulling out a wicked sword. The pommel looked identical to the Heartless symbol. The blade was obsidian, broad, and cracked in many places.

"Now, to silence you forever." Rould said. The last thing Lord Ire saw before everything went black was the Heartless' sinister crimson eyes.

Rould kicked aside the limp body and began to advance on Ashlee. The evil weapon seemed to darken everything in Ashlee's sight. Without even thinking, she made a portal and attempted to run away, thinking, _I don't care where I go, as long as I am away from here._

Rould laughed and concentrated on the portal as Ashlee ran through it. There was a slight shimmer in its borders as Ashlee passed through and Rould turned to face the large gateway to the Keyhole's room again. Tomb Master's tentacles came out again, sensing the air. There was a groan and Ire stood up, stretching to get the kinks out of his back.

"I will not take being beaten so easily." He stopped what he was going to say and added, "I will leave for now and gather my thoughts. I will be back to claim my revenge."

Rould yawned and waved his hand dismissively as Ire disappeared when a bolt of lightning struck him. _Always has to exit with flair, you really haven't changed, Pretender._

* * *

Kevin looked across the dark body of water before him the wind making him sway a bit. The pool was probably a hundred feet deep and twice as long. He looked out, there wasn't that much visibility. He stretched open his wings, and promptly closed them.

"Nah, I have a much, much better idea." He took off his socks and shoes and stepped onto the water. Yelped at its frigid temperature and fell in. The rest of the people watched Kevin go through the process of trial and error until finally…

"I AM A FREAKING NINJA! I AM STANDING ON WATER! UZUMAKI, EAT YOUR HEART OUT!"

"Y'know Kevin, I can walk on water too." Andrea said. A large section of water, including the water Kevin was standing on froze. He slipped, fell on his rear and fell through the thin ice and into the water below. Kevin floated up to the top of the water, standing on his feet. The water left his clothes in a puff of steam.

"So, Andrea. Do you have anything to say for yourself?" He asked through clenched teeth.

Andrea wasn't there anymore. In fact, no one was there. Behind him, he heard Andrea yell, "S'long suckah!"

He turned around, stumbling and sinking down to his chest. He sighed. _Fine, I will be a ninja later._

He took a big gulp of air and submerged under the water. He pressed his feet against the cliff and pushed himself off. He shot through the water, and in a matter of seconds, he was under Andrea. He stopped, and shot up through the patch of ice, sending everyone on it shooting through the air. He landed nimbly on the water and practiced walking the rest of the way. Everyone else had the misfortune of swimming.

"S'LONG SUCKAH!"

* * *

"Shaun, are you in position?" Tahlia asked Shaun through her headset.

"Yeah, I am in the Dark Depths, in the shadows, to the left. You can't miss me, because I am actually out in the open… Wait a sec, that isn't my reflection, that's you! Get into the shadows, dummy."

"Remember Shaun, don't kill them. Just conk 'em out, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah Tahl, of course." _As if, it has been way too long since I made someone's skull shatter with you babies._

He stared at his guns almost as if in a daze. His head bolted up when he heard someone yell "S'LONG SUCKAH!"

He flipped the safety off of his guns and watched someone run through and into the dark depths. He was panting and soaking wet. Soon a group of four came through the opening; two girls in the group viciously attacked the male while two other males tried to remove the girls.

_Good God, I don't think I will be able to get them_

Almost as if the male being attacked had read Shaun's thoughts, a ball of lightning was shot right at him. He barely had a second to move away. More followed him.

_WHAT THE HELL?_

He ducked under another ball and quickly aimed and fired at the target. There was no way Shaun was going to let the hunter become the hunted. The attacker dodged the bullet, and one of the females returned fire, the other female and one of the males disappeared. He flinched, feeling cold steel rest against his throat and stopped moving. One of the two targets in Maleficent's photos was standing in front of him, her weapon making it hard for him to breathe.

"So, Andrea." He said, a grin creeping across his face. "I guess we finally meet."

* * *

Leashex lunged at Xunahs, swinging Chaos in a sweeping arc. Chaos collided with one of the two swords and Anarchy hit the other. She twisted around and dug kicked her heel into his face, crushing his recently healed nose. She used the poor Heartless' face to jump away. When she landed, she plunged both of her swords into the ground and black, thorny vines shot out and flew straight at Xunahs.

Xunahs dodged them, but barely. His eyes widened and he cursed silently as the thorns followed him, making him become ensnared. They entwined around his body and crushed him to cease his struggles. With a smug grin, Leashex said, "Iron Maiden." He let out a muffled agonized cry as he was impaled dozens of times by the black thorns. The vines disappeared and Xunahs dropped.

Black smoke formed around the wounds and sealed them. He stood up, cracked his knuckles and threw both of his weapons at Leashex. She dodged them and said smugly. "So, I guess I need to try a bit harder." Her voice grew demonic and black wings burst from her back. "Very well, let's dance."

Darkness exploded out from her, pushing back Xunahs. Chaos and Anarchy flew to her hands and fused with them, becoming part of her arms. She dashed at Xunahs and spun, bringing both weapons out from behind her and decapitating him by bringing the swords together like scissors. She didn't stop there. She continued hacking at him with frenzied strikes until he was simply gone.

There was an angered disembodied roar that entered their minds, _This vessel is incompetent! Keep the stupid boy in your possession. I will not be denied. I will find someone for me to steal power from. Even if it kills me!_

The voice left and Venxik, who stood calmly, watching the battle said, "What a wanker."

Leashex groaned and said, "How many times do we have to kill that bastard?" Venxik watched Xunahs' remains float away and said, "I think he is done, now. But just for good measure..." He reached out towards the darkness and sucked it in through his hand. A pink heart floated up to the heart-shaped moon behind them, pronouncing the end of Xunahs and the evil king that controlled him.

"That Galbatorix sure was persistent."

"Yeah, Leashex, he was." Leashex stood, looking up as if bewitched and quickly came back to reality. "Wait a sec, what? That was the old fart?"

"Yep. He used his magic to take over Xunahs' body and slowly learn the secrets of the Heartless' powers. I didn't think he would be capable of such a feat. It only proves that no one should be taken lightly."

"So, why aren't you going to hunt down Kevin right now, after saying that?"

Venxik laughed and said, "I am waiting."

"Waiting for what?" Leashex asked, tilting her head to the right.

"For him to get stronger. When he is powerful enough, I will come and absorb all of his powers."

"Heh, whatever. That was contradictory to an extreme. If you just learned to not take anyone lightly, you shouldn't take Kevin lightly. For all you know, he could be a demi-god and is knocking on our front door as we speak."

"Well, once we accept him in, I will take his coat, as well as his life. Also, I have been able to monitor his progress, Leashex. I know you have been able to monitor Ashlee as well."

Leashex' expression didn't change, "Mhmm, yeah I have been watching Ashlee. It's because her stupid heart is connected to her still. Just recently, she got the Keyblade. Do you think Tom may follow the same path our Nobodies follow? Do you think he could wind up with a Keyblade of his own?"

"Honestly, Leashex, I don't know. While I was inside Kevin, I was working as hard as possible to deter the Keyblade from his grasp. If he got a hold of it, I would have never been released. You never would have been released and none of my work today would be evident. Maybe some other tyrant would have tried to take my place, I am not sure. As for Tom..."

Somaxth appeared before the two and shook Venxik's hand in a friendly manner. "Yeah Venxik, what do you need me for?"

Venxik grinned and asked, "Somaxth, do you feel any connection with your Nobody, Tom?"

Somaxth seemed taken aback by the question. He thought for a moment and realised that he hadn't spared his Nobody a single thought. He took in a cleansing breath and concentrated, trying to feel for a presence inside him. After a minute, he looked up at Venxik and said, "No, nothing. I can't sense him. Why do you ask?" Venxik shrugged, "It is because I have a theory. I guess all we can do now is wait for Father Time to put my theory to the test. Thank you, Somaxth."

Somaxth turned around to leave, but Venxik put his hand firmly on Somaxth' shoulder.

"I did not tell you to leave, Somaxth. I need you to stay with Leashex and I. I need someone to act as an advisor, and since you are working alongside Xochitl, I would like you to spy on the others through her. This is simply a humble request from a friend."

Somaxth looked downcast. "I am sorry, but I can't fulfill the second half of your request, Venxik. Xochitl and I are not together any longer. She doesn't deem me worthy or some useless crap like that."

_Maybe it's intelligence? _Leashex thought, looking at Somaxth. He looked at her warily and she looked away, whistling innocently.

"Leashex, it isn't because of a lack of intelligence. I would prefer it if you didn't call me stupid." Somaxth said in a low voice.

* * *

"I am not stupid!" Tom yelled at random as he fought with Tahlia.

Tahlia paused and cocked an eyebrow. "What the hell? I never called you stupid."

She kicked him in the stomach and then jabbed a kunai at him. He brought his arm to block the attack. The kunai sank in and Tahlia said, "Okay... I take it back, you are retarded."

* * *

Leashex raised her hands up in mock surrender. "Oh, okay. I have been busted. Good God, you would think that I just told you I thought you were a retard or something. Oh wait, I kinda did, didn't I?"

Somaxth's eye twitched and he asked Venxik, "How the hell can you like her?"

"Because he is my uke, and I would have it no other way." Leashex answered for Venxik, her voice startlingly even.

Venxik didn't argue. He just coughed and shuffled his feet. Somaxth's mouth went agape and he just stood there, dumbfounded. He shut his mouth and backed away. "I see... Er... heheh, nice seeing you. I uh, gotta go. Yeah, uh... Bye!"

He left through a portal. Venxik and Leashex stood for a few more seconds, Leashex looking serious and Venxik looking embarrassed. After they were sure he was gone, they starting laughing hysterically, holding onto each other for support.

"Uke. Leashex, come on. Seriously! Uke?!"

She elbowed him in the ribs and said, "You never know Venxik, it probably is very much true."

"Bah! You will never be the seme!" Venxik cried.

"Bah! I say the same for you! I don't plan on that sort of crap for a very long time!"

* * *

Jasmine sighed as she walked behind Axel. Compared to his light footed walking, she was sluggish. She shuffled her feet. They had a break under a tree. The field surrounding the tree was lush. There were multi-coloured shapes flying through the air, performing amazing stunts. At times they would chase one another through the air. The occasional jet of flame would be released.

Thinking out loud, Jasmine said, "Well, I guess Alagaesia isn't the only world with dragons on it. That place was a depressing wasteland. It was stuck in a war that will probably rage on for many more years. It's kinda crappy."

Axel just nodded and made a very audible "nom nom nom," as he chewed the tuna sandwich. "I don't really care. I went there looking for Roxas, hearing something from Dusk about a Keyblade Wielder, so I immediately assumed it was Roxas. It turns out it was your boyfriend."

Jasmine stood up and turned to Axel. She was glaring and flames were dancing around her fist. "I told you, you pedophile bastard, I am not in love with him! I am a lesbian! I like women! W-O-M-E-N! Got it memorised?!" It took her a second to take in what she just said and screamed in fury at using her brother's catchphrase. "I hate you, you little son of a bitch!"

Just to prove her point, she punched Axel in the face with her blazing fist.

"Stop trying to get Roxas in the sack already! I will kill you if I come home and find you two naked in each other's arms!" She screamed.

Axel stood up now. Equally as pissed off as his sister. "I do not love Roxas damnit! Like you, I like WOMEN. If it weren't for you trying to hit on every girl at the bar, I probably would have a girlfriend!"

After this, Jasmine sighed and hugged her brother. "Bro, I love you."

Axel sighed and returned the hug. "Yeah sis, arguments are good for the heart, even if we don't have one."

"So, what was it with Roxas making you feel like you had a heart?" She asked.

Axel put a hand to his chin and began to think.

"Well, it was weird. Actually, Demyx and I were chummy back at the Castle That Was Perpetually Emo. When Roxas arrived, we immediately took him into our group and we began acting like genuine friends. Something no Nobody has ever done before then. I think that being around Andrea had the same effect on you too. I think it has something to do with the Keyblade. The thing is a real mystery."

"Also, Jasmine. If anyone in the Organization was gay, it would be Saix. He was too loyal to Mansex."

Jasmine arched an eyebrow. "And what about Marluxia?"

"Marly, was not gay. Actually, I got proof of that one day when I walked into his room at Castle Oblivion. Let's just say both he and Larxene were occupied at the time."

Jasmine looked at Axel and his serious expression. To confirm what he just said, she entered his mind. And screamed, "HOLY FUCK! TOO MUCH INFO!"

Axel grinned and said, "That is what you get for trying to invade my mind. If Larxene were still alive, I would be castrated for what I just said."

Jasmine smiled serenely. "And if you ever make a crack about me loving Kevin again, your egg fertilizing organs will meet a similar fate. Just with flames and/or rust instead."

* * *

Shaun stuck the barrel of his gun on Andrea's throat and asked, "Well, Keybearer. Who do you think is faster, you and your clumsy sword, or me and my trigger happy fingers?" His smirk vanished and he let out a whimper, his face contorting with pain. Andrea looked at him with a savage smile and said, "Or maybe my feet of fury?" He fell over to the right, cupping his groin with his hands and groaned, "Hax..."

* * *

Rozalin watched as several strange Nobodies appeared around her and Adell. They bore a strange resemblance to the Samurai that had helped them at the castle against the Dead. These ones, however were much more burly and carried giant hammer-like weapons. One of them swung it deftly and smashed it into the ground. The resulting tremor threw her off her feet. She picked herself up and glowered at the Nobody.

"How dare you attack me, the daughter of Overlord Zenon like that. Show respect to your liege, disgusting ogres." She said. She held up her gun and fired a bullet at the forehead of the one that had attacked her. The bullet shot clean through its skull. The others were enraged by her attack and charged at her. Adell and Kevin blocked them while Rozalin backed off.

"Why are you guys attacking us?" Kevin asked through clenched teeth, putting all of his strength into holding off the onslaught of attacks made by one of the Nobodies. There was a strange howl and all of the monsters stopped. They backed off and made single file lines that were parallel to each other.

A large portal opened and Kevin guessed that it would have been large enough to fit a Kull from Alagaesia easily. A lone figure stepped out of it. It looked almost exactly like the other Nobodies, except it had this strange looking armour as well as a gentlemanly posture. It's face was also revealed, it appeared human. As the portal closed, another one opened. A smaller one this time, able to hold your average sized person. A man, probably no older than twenty stepped out of it. He was wearing ragged clothes that were torn in several areas (without being too ridiculous). He and the large Nobody walked down the aisle and side stepped away from each other.

Kevin, not even bothering to keep his mouth shut asked, "So what is this? A wedding ceremony?" The man glared at him and said, "No, sadly enough, it isn't. It may very well be a funeral procession if my plan works well enough. You see, my name is Ryan. I was hired my Maleficent to kill you. Normally, I would 'strike from the shadows', but I decided that fighting you head on would be more entertaining if the rumours were true. So tell me Kevin, do you really lack a heart like Gard and I?"

Kevin raised an eyebrow. "What's it to you?"

"Answer me. Yes, or no?"

"If I said 'no', what would you do?"

Ryan smiled and a ball of darkness formed around his hands. "So glad you asked, Keybearer." He shot the ball at Kevin. Kevin closed his eyes and embraced for the impact. The darkness hit him square in the face and disappeared. When Kevin wasn't thrown back, he opened his eyes, but didn't see anything. He touched his face and yelled, "What did you do to me? I'm blind!" Adell looked at Kevin and stumbled back and turned to Ryan. "What the hell did you do to him, Ryan?"

Ryan laughed mirthlessly as he watched Kevin screamed with his eyes open. Kevin's eyes were completely black. He looked possessed. Getting quickly tired from the agonized chorus, Ryan said, "Sleep." Kevin fell over as if his head was smashed by a giant club and hit it on the ground. Ryan walked up to collect his prize. Adell tried to intervene, but Ryan halted his efforts by throwing up a black shield that threw the teen away. Rozalin tried to fire her gun, but her attacks were halted likewise. He picked up Kevin's limp form, opened a portal and said to Gard, "Dispose of them."

* * *

Andrea and Shaun watched Ryan get away and Shaun rolled away, and took a potion. He jumped up on to a cliff and asked into his headset, "Ryan, what do you want Tahl and I to do?"

There was static for a moment. When it cleared, Ryan said to both younger Nobodies, "Kill the two demons and the male Nobody, be sure to support the Berserkers. Allow Gard the honours of fighting Andrea."

"What?! Ryan, what do you mean 'kill'? I thought we agreed to just knock 'em around! Why are you doing this?" Tahlia cried on the other end.

"I lied, Tahlia. Now go help Shaun, or I will come back for you."

Tahlia glowered, unsure what to do. She looked down at Tom, who was running over to help Adell and Rozalin fend off the Berserkers. She shut her eyes tightly and made up her mind. "Ryan, Shaun. Fuck you." She threw her headset to the ground, crushed it and ran to help Tom, Adell and Rozalin.

Shaun cried at the temporary high-pitched static and tried to claw at the headset. It subsided, and he growled. "Now what, Ryan?"

There was silence again and Ryan said, "Kill her."

"Okay Ry—" He felt a chill run through him as an ice cold blade went through his stomach. Shaun fell off Frost with a sickening _squelch_ and onto the ground, mouth gaping open and shut like a fish out of water. Andrea created a big, sharp icicle and said, "Good luck in the river." The icicle came down and crushed Shaun's head.

* * *

Ryan threw the headset from his head and shot a ball of black flame at it. "Fuck! What is the problem with good help these days? Doesn't it exist?" He looked down at the unconscious Kevin and snarled. He threw Kevin into the air and punched him in the stomach with all of his strength, sending Kevin up into the air and making him hit the ceiling with a dull _thud_. He fell back to the ground and Ryan caught Kevin deftly, being extra careful to make sure his head hit the ground.

He slung Kevin over his shoulder and stomped down the hall. He threw Kevin roughly down on an altar and said, "I would have gladly killed you, but I like to have a bit of fun with victims that prove to be a problem, or when I am just pissed off."

Ryan glanced down at Kevin's unconscious form and said, "You are alone on a beach. Kevin, you do like the beach, right? The sand squishing between your toes. The sound of waves lapping against the shore as well as the scent of the sea air that rushes through your hair. The sky is clear and you are waiting..."

* * *

Author's Note: Okay, quick thing to let people in on. Ire is not the Dragonlord. Lord Ire is the antagonist of another story (and I have plans on making that story into a world for this fic as well). To most of you, that is something to say "Meh" to, but to some, the Dragonlord situation may confuse you. As far as I know, the Dragonlord will only be mentioned throughout the fic and will not make any appearances.


	33. Brawl in the Castle: Part One

Chapter Thirty-Three: Brawl in the Castle: Part One

* * *

Andrea swore under her breath as Shaun faded and turned her attention to the Berserkers that surrounded Tom, Adell and Rozalin, as well as some other girl. She touched the mind of the girl, immediately realizing it was Tahlia. If Andrea had a heart, she would have gone into shock. She immediately moved her attention to one of the Nobodies and heard nothing but, _Must ensure the master's victory._ As well as something about the Glorious Advance.

Her attention was diverted, however when a giant hammer swung through the air at her. She jumped out of the way. The hammer connected with ground, sending splintered rocks high up into the air. She watched a behemothic Nobody clutch the weapon and spin it deftly through the air. She jumped back as it swung again, and began to fire ice missiles at it. The missiles bounced off of the Nobody's crystalline armor like they were nothing. She jumped over the hammer as it was swung for her legs and she did a somersault in the air, bringing Frost down on the giant's hand.

It cried out and dropped the hammer. The hammer righted itself, and for some reason, Andrea got the sudden urge to pick it up. She walked to it, as if in a trance and grabbed the weapon. A visible, red aura exploded around her and her eyes clouded over. She seemed possessed as she floated mere inches off the ground, with the hammer quivering in her grasp. Andrea moved to the large Nobody and smashed it into the air with its own hammer. She followed it and did several quick and deadly strikes, each one connecting with enough force to shatter brick. After the frenzied attack, she planted her feet on the Nobody's right shoulder and jumped high into the air, before coming down, smashing the hammer into its head.

The strange armor glowed and the Berserker's staggering dance stopped. The hammer vanished from Andrea's hands and reappeared in the Berserkers hand. "So, young Keybearer, you are stronger than your frail form leads on. I am not surprised by this revelation. So far, four humanoid entities have defeated me, the first being Xemnas, then Saix, then Maxjisne, and finally, Ryan. I, Gard don't plan on being subdued by any other being."

He roared and swung the hammer down on Andrea. She twirled to the left and lunged at Gard. The bigger Nobody was unable to stop her in time because his bulky limbs slowed him down. Frost collided with the armor and Andrea swung at it with all her might. Energy pulsed through the armor and she got thrown off. She landed gingerly on her feet and quickly dashed forward for another attack. Frost connected with a high pitched shriek. She gritted her teeth as she tried to hold her position and finally, she felt the armor give way and Frost sank into the nothingness that made up Gard.

* * *

Kevin gazed out across the water on the shore of Destiny Islands. His clothes were tattered and he was sitting among a pile of driftwood. He liked the smell of the sea air and the breeze it made. It always had a soothing effect. He snapped out of his trance and stood up, remembering that he was waiting for someone.

"_Is that, is that the person you are waiting for Kevin? No, it couldn't be, could it? Just sit down and wait, Kevin. She will be with you shortly"_

Kevin's eyes clouded over and he plopped back down onto the sand, nearly missing a nail that stuck up out of the planks that was used build his raft.

"_The sky is beginning to fall into dusk Kevin; __you__ are getting worried about your friend. Aren't those storm clouds over the horizon? That doesn't bode well. You are all alone and have no shelter. What can you do?"_

Kevin shivered and saw the sky immediately darken and sinister looking clouds fill the sky off shore. Kevin didn't seem to notice the instant change however, he just continued sitting there.

An hour passed and Kevin was up to his hips in water while sitting. He didn't move, for some reason, he felt rooted to the spot. Suddenly, something brushed his arm and he looked down.

"_Do you see that Kevin? Your friend has finally arrived. Except one thing, she isn't alive. She drowned after your raft was destroyed."_

Kevin jumped away from the body of his friend and started yelling for help.

"_Kevin, no one can come to help you. You are alone, and you will die alone."_

Ryan watched Kevin thrash on the altar he was laid on. _Damn, he is fighting it. I need to restrain him._ He thought. Two Berserkers stood beside Kevin and pinned him to the altar.

The girl was Ashlee. He immediately looked away and threw up. Both of her arms and one leg up to the knee was removed. Even chunks of her torso were removed. Her skull was bashed in.

"_Shark attack, Kevin. When your raft was destroyed by a storm, Ashlee fell in to the water. She was screaming for your help, but you didn't come. You swam away in the other direction like a coward after seeing the shark fin coming in from behind her."_

On the illusionary island, Kevin put his hands to the side of his head and yelled at the top of his lungs. The world around him dissipated and he fell into an abyss. He closed his eyes and hit his head on grass. He struggled to sit up, he was feeling very stiff.

"What just happened? I was on the island... Where am I now?"

He looked around, trying to take in his surroundings. He was in a forest. Tall fir trees surrounded him everywhere, except for a clearing just beyond the trees. He could hear a creek somewhere nearby. He stood up and walked towards the sound.

* * *

Ashlee fell out of the portal and landed on the hard, stone ground inside the castle. She picked herself up and rubbed her hand. "Ugh, that was not how I planned on making my grand entrance." She looked around the dim room and stood up, thinking about what had occurred only seconds ago. "Was that really Rould? We killed him eight months ago, didn't we? He should be dead. Didn't Andrea deal the final blow? Or... What if..." She slumped down on her rear and moaned.

"I probably dealt the final blow. Great. So, now there is still Rould running around. Well, actually... Since Andrea and I beat him last time, we should be able to beat him again. On top of that, we have only gotten stronger." She stood up again and stretched. "Why am I talking to myself anyways? I need to get out of here ASAP."

She looked around the room and heard a muffled scream. It sounded like someone was yelling her name. She let a flame dance around her fingers, giving the vast room some light. She saw thick thorny branches all around her. She could see them almost move. The room made her uneasy. She put the flame on her hand on top of one of the spikes and watched the fire dance around and slowly put itself out.

_Well, this is weird._ She thought. There was another shout and Ashlee lit up the area around her with a flame that she made float around her head. She summoned Corona and began cutting down the thick thorny branches to the place the shouts were coming from.

* * *

Tom, Adell, Rozalin and Tahlia all sat crouched under a stone dome that Tom had set up to keep the Nobodies out and to let them form a plan. The problem was that even with the wall just put up, the brute strength of the Berserkers was making quick work of Toms only defence. "So, Tahlia, why are you helping us?" Rozalin asked. "From what I could gather, you are, or were working with that Ryan person. So why are you helping us?"

Tahlia bowed her head and looked downcast. Over the thudding of the hammers hitting the dome, she said, "I decided to help you guys because I realized that Ryan was planning on killing you guys. He is an assassin from this world, or at least he is the Nobody of an assassin. He is working with a very evil person in order to bring you guys down." "And I would guess this evil person is Maleficent." Adell said.

Tahlia shook her head. "No, he is much worse than that. The person Ryan is working with, that is."

Tom looked over at her and asked, "Was the person Venxik?"

Tahlia shook her head and wrapped her arms around her knees, pulling them to her chest. "No, I don't know much about Venxik, only that he can block King Mickey's most basic attacks and show no sign of injury, and that he is evil. I think that this person is worse. I haven't met him yet, but I have heard his voice. Even without a heart, it unnerves me to hear the evil that coats his voice."

Just then, a hammer smashed through the dome and the whole thing collapsed. The Berserkers getting ready to strike down the four teens that were huddled together were frozen in place. Some of them had silver, thorny arms poking through their skulls. Others were on fire. There seemed to be an explosion as all of the Nobodies disintegrated.

Gard, who was still fighting Andrea roared and swung his hammer. It connected with her head and sent her flying to the ground below. She knocked over Tom, who rolled and knocked over one of the Nobodies that impaled one of the Berserkers. A gloved hand forced him to his feet and he looked to see Jasmine and her brother, the pyromaniac Axel standing there. The older Nobody looked up at Gard, who was running towards them, roaring an incoherent battle cry and said, "Tch. Gard is the same as Saix, always happy to see me. Now then, Tom and friends, go with Jasmine into the castle. I will take care of Gard."

Tom looked up at the former Organization XIII member and said, "Uh, okay. Just a quick question though..."

Axel looked at Tom; a flame began to snake out from Axel and towards Tom. "Yes?" Axel said, with the smile of impending burning of things. Just as Tom was about to ask his question, Axel turned around and ran at Gard. Tom looked confused for a second and then quickly figured out what just happened. He turned around to follow Jasmine, Rozalin, Adell and the very dizzy Andrea.

"Asshole."

Axel crouched and leaned forward with his arms stretched out. Two thin lines of fire danced along his arms until they met at the end to form two chakrams. He looked up at the giant Nobody and grinned. "I guess this is the closest I will get to bashing Saix, oh well." Flames shot up from the ground, enclosing both Nobodies in the ring and the ground took on the appearance of cooling lava.

As Gard closed in on Axel, he spun to the right and threw one of the blazing chakrams at the place Andrea had cut Gard. He jumped further back, calling back the thrown weapon and then threw them both. The two flaming weapons flew through the air, circling each other, the flames behind them made a double helix. Both slammed into Gard's head, knocking the Nobody over.

Black and silver threads surrounded the Berserker Leader and he disappeared. Axel had seen Xemnas do the same thing before on one of their shared missions and began turning around. A huge hand grasped his throat and began to crush it. Axel grinned up at Gard and said, "Heh... Gard, you really are like Saix... Ah... Copying Xemnas... So funny..." Gard snarled and punched the cocky Nobody in the gut. He raised his free hand and called back his weapon. It dislodged itself from the ground and flew at Gard's left hand, which was in front of Axel.

Once it was moving too fast to correct its course, Gard moved his hand away and the giant weapon continued moving straight on, just as he hoped. Axel tried to summon a fire, but it just wouldn't come. There was a sickening crunch as the weapon hit its mark.

* * *

Roxas sat alone at an inn that was built on an ancient world. The inhabitants, from what he could see had the most advanced magic controlling capabilities. The world was quiet most of the time. However, there were soldiers running around every little village and taking taxes. A few times, he had been harassed by these men. They were quickly dispatched, of course. Roxas got up from his table, making sure he was covered by the cloak. The people on this world looked different from your average human. If Roxas was exposed, people would know he didn't belong, immediately question him and bring unwanted attention.

As he walked to the room he had rented. Someone that was wearing a hooded trench coat stood up and followed Roxas. The only thing that could be seen on the person's face was a smile.

Roxas entered his room, locked the door and removed his cloak. He was wearing the black jeans that went with the uniform as well as a grey t-shirt. He kicked off the boots and the gloves and threw himself on to his bed. There was a knock on his door and he said, "Not right now, I need to get some sleep." The door bulged in slightly as it was kicked. Roxas jumped up and summoned Oathkeeper and Oblivion.

Keeping his voice calm, Roxas said, "I'm sorry, but I need to get some sleep, a week of travelling and camping outdoors can really kill." He edged closer to the wall by the door and waited to see if anything else happened. Something did happen. There was a sound, like a zipper being unzipped and then a bang that shook the door, followed by the dulled ring of the doorknob hitting the wood floor in the hall. The door was mercilessly kicked again and swung open.

Roxas was about to attack when two thin arms wrapped around his waist and a blond head buried itself in his chest. Roxas was dumbstruck for a moment and then cried, "Namine!"

* * *

Jasmine stopped before the big artificial lake that blocked the group from Maleficent's castle. The lake itself was really more of a twenty foot deep pool, but it stretched out in a wide area. The problem wasn't getting through it; the problem was getting off this two hundred foot high cliff and not dying.

There was a small tremor and they began to go down the hill. It was like the rock was acting as an elevator. Jasmine looked around and found Tom standing with his face contorted with concentration. After a few minutes of the painfully slow descent, the group hit water. Andrea mumbled something in her half awake state, and Tom moved his head in to hear. "What was that, Andrea? Speak up."

"I said what are we doing?"

"We are about to go for a swim, Andrea."

Andrea's head rolled, "Yeh… Has it been an hour since you ate?"

Tom sighed and said, "Yes mom."

Andrea smacked him and said, "I am not your mom; don't call me 'mom'."

Tom blushed. "Yes Andrea."

Jasmine, who was watching the whole thing said, "Ho damn! She has you whipped!"

Tom glared at her and said, "Jasmine, please do remember who has the power here to make the ground suddenly tilt and make you fall in the water."

Jasmine shrugged and said, "Yeah, so? We are about to go swimming anyways, aren't we?"

Tom grumbled something and looked across the water. It was a long way before they got to the castle. A very long way.

"Andrea, do you think you can get us across?" Tom asked. As an answer, Andrea stood up and looked across the water. She summoned Frost and pointed it at the water in front of them. A thick layer of ice formed on the water and Andrea wobbled a bit. Tom ran up to grab her. She sat down and said, "Man, I must have been hit hard. We can use this as a raft though; I hope you guys don't mind coldbutt."

Tom made stone paddles from the cliff and handed one to Adell, Jasmine and kept one for himself. They piled on to the raft and began to row towards the castle.

When they finally arrived at the castle, they realized the water was a lot higher than it had been from when they started rowing. By this point, they were able to walk into the room. Andrea was also more coherent. They entered the room and looked around. It was completely empty; there was absolutely nothing in it. Rozalin drew her guns and walked in to the room. She felt one of her feet sink in to the ground and heard the water outside of the room bubble. The room itself began to shake. They were all thrown to the ground as they rose in to the sky. The clouds cleared, revealing the evening sky.

* * *

Feeling the tremors, the people occupying their houses fled into the streets and saw Villain's Vale rise up into the sky. Leon, as well as everyone else looked dumbstruck. Once the situation settled in, the people became terrified and chaos broke out in the streets. Leon looked over at Cid and yelled over the commotion, "Go get every gummi ship you can and get everyone in them. Take them all to Disney Castle."

The Dark Hero, Axel watched the chaos that was unfolding and motioned for the director and camera-zombie to come over to him. "Leon," he asked "What do you need us to do?" "Axel, I want you to get everyone together and try to sort out the chaos. Do everything in your power to do so. As stupid as it may be, you can use the city PA system to do it."

A grin spread across Axel's face and he yelled "Director! We have work to do!"

"Yes Axel darling!" They sped into Leon's house and Leon sighed. Cid grabbed his shoulder and shook it roughly. "Good idea there on getting a rid of that snot nosed punk, Leon." Without waiting for a response, Cid walked off to do his job.

"Merlin and Aerith, go with Cid. Yuffie and I will go to Villain's Vale and see what is happening."

Aerith shook her head and said, "No Leon, both of you should stay here, I think that they have it under control down there. If we get attacked, we won't do so well. You need to stay." She looked sternly at him and he pinched the bridge of his nose and said, "Fine, you win. We stay."

* * *

Kevin stepped out of the tree line and saw a wide clearing. There was a stream running from the trees not too far from him into a small pond. Sitting on a rock, with her back turned to him was a girl with dark gray, wavy hair that went down to her back. Kevin felt uncertain about the person, so he set up mental barriers and summoned Vortex. He slowly approached from behind, being ready just in case the person decided to attack. He stepped on a twig and the girl waved one of her hands and said, "Hello, I have been expecting you, Kevin. Please, come and sit." Kevin was stunned and berated himself got giving away his position so carelessly.

The girl sighed, it sounded like wind rustling through the trees. It was calming. "Listen, Kevin. Just get your butt over here and plant it. We need to talk. Don't even try to attack me either, I doubt even your little Venxik friend could stand up to me." Her voice had a hint of anger in it on top of the breeze that seemed to accompany it. It was almost like he was in the calm before the storm. He shivered and complied with the mysterious woman. He sat down next to her, and couldn't help but look up to see what she looked like.

She was looking down at him from the rock. Her face was narrow, and the colour seemed to make her seem like a cloud. Her eyes were as grey as her hair and her lips were pursed in a frown. She was wearing a long robe that went down her feet. It was dark grey and had streaks of lightning flashing across it. Her feet were bare. He also noticed her height. She was easily as tall as Kevin was.

Kevin sat down with his chin against his chest. He was sad and the woman's face softened a bit. She jumped from the rock and put a hand on Kevin's shoulder.

"What happened?" She asked.

Kevin looked up, his face red with tears that were threatening to form. "It's nothing."

She sighed and sat down in front of Kevin. She put her hand under his chin. It was cold, kind of like one of the clouds Kevin had flown through during his lessons with Shruikan. "Listen Kevin, I know what is making you upset. That really didn't happen. Ashlee didn't die. It was an illusion made by Ryan. Listen to me Kevin." She lifted his head up so that he was looking up again. "Listen, she didn't die. I know she is alive."

Kevin smacked her hand away and was glaring at her. "Okay, yeah, that is all fine and dandy, but who are you? How do you know my name and about Ashlee?"

The woman smiled sweetly and said, "My name? I couldn't tell you my name. You know who I am, but you won't be able to learn my name and release your true power before you regain your heart. I am always with you, in here. This is your inner world. You can stay in here for millennia, but not even a second would pass in the outside world."

"Why can't you tell me your name?" He asked in a low voice. "Because, Kevin, like I said you don't have a heart. On top of that, you have not proven yourself worthy of knowing who I am yet." She replied

Kevin gave up on that question and asked another, "Okay, fine. What exactly is this 'inner world'?"

"The inner world is the world inside your heart." Kevin was about to interrupt, but she cut him off. "Yes, you and your heart are separated, but you are still connected to it. Venxik isn't your heart, only the embodiment of darkness that lives inside it. Anyways, to enter this world, all you have to do is enter your own mind, which is what connects you to your heart and this world."

Kevin nodded and asked "Okay, how do I leave?" The woman said, "Just do the same, enter your mind and you will be pulled back into your reality. An hour has passed since Ryan knocked you unconscious. I want you to get out and escape. Ashlee is in another room of the castle. Find her and explain what I just explained to you. If you can find Andrea afterwards, do the same."

Kevin nodded and said, "Thank you," and left.

* * *

Ashlee finally reached the wall and looked around at the mass of thorns she tore away. They were as thick as trees. She was amazed she was able to cut through them so easily. She put her back against the wall and heard muffled shouts coming from behind the wall she was leaning against. She pressed her ear against it and heard someone yell "Get that son of a bitch now!" The wall shook as something big hit it and Ashlee scrambled away on to one of the thick, thorny branches. There was another thud and the wall exploded, sending a large Nobody through the gaping hole.

Someone flew in through the hole after it, and Ashlee immediately realized it was Kevin. Another person, this one more thin and with ragged clothes followed. There were long blades protruding from his arms. There was some more yelling and a group of people crashed through the hole. It was everyone else. Jasmine was also with them. She watched the group run through the vines, Jasmine burning any down that got in their way.

Ashlee jumped from vine to vine and landed in the clearing in the center. Kevin was swooping down on the attacker, striking with Vortex. The man swung to the right and kicked Kevin in the chest. There was a loud cracking noise. Kevin cried out in pain and fell to the floor. Jasmine and the other people were too far away. Ashlee jumped off the branches and on to the path she made. She ran in a full out sprint up to the man that was about to crush Kevin's head with his foot. She tackled him away from Kevin and looked down at him.

She turned Kevin on to his back and saw his pale face and the broken rib sticking out from his chest. She was about to heal him when she felt something sharp poke the back of her neck.

"I wasn't done yet. Step aside and let me cave his skull in, okay?"


	34. Brawl in the Castle: Part Two

Chapter Thirty Four: Brawl in the Castle: Part Two

-An hour before-

The castle finally came to a halt. The tower they were in began to shudder and with a loud snap, separated itself from the rest of the castle. It slowly descended to the bottom of the castle. After the fifteen minute descent, Andrea woke up and was feeling more like herself. They stepped off the platform. As the last of them went on the castle, a dozen Wyvern Heartless surrounded them.

Rozalin was the first to react. She drew her guns and shot two directly through the head, spun around and shot another in three places. All three of them disappeared in puffs of smoke. Adell jumped and landed on the back of one of the Heartless and punched it in the spine with a blazing fist. Before it died, he jumped off, grabbed its tail and swung it like a morning star, making it take out another Wyvern. Tom sent up a hail of rocks and killed four by tearing them to shreds. Andrea decapitated another and Jasmine, stood there. Her face was completely even. She felt a rush of heat as the remaining two behind her burst into flame and she walked on, smiling contentedly.

As she was walking, four Defenders surrounded her and tried to attack her by crushing her with their shields. She summoned her chakram, spun in a circle with the arm holding the disk outstretched and cut the shields in half. Four pillars of flame burst up from under the four Heartless, killing them instantly.

Adell, who was watching along with the group said, "Remind me not to piss her off."

Tom nodded vigorously. "Yeah, I would prefer the non flaming castration in all honesty."

They walked to the giant double doors without incident; the superior smirk on Jasmine's face could have infuriated anyone. They pushed open the double doors and were greeted with a rush of stale air. They walked in, all of their weapons out and ready. There was a laugh that rang throughout the halls and a ball of darkness was fired at the group. They avoided the attack and Rozalin began to fire her guns in the direction the attack came from. She ducked behind a pillar; Tom was behind the one next to hers, and Andrea behind the one next to his. All three nodded at each other and jumped out, letting out a barrage of missiles in the place the ball of darkness came from. There was another laugh and the chandelier hanging in the middle exploded, sending down a shower of gold and glass.

Ryan fell down with the shrapnel and landed on the floor gracefully. His clothes were ragged and his features were gaunt. He looked at Andrea and said, "You first." A barrier pushed out from him and surrounded the two of them, pushing everyone else away. Two blades exploded from the fingerless gloves on his hands and as an experiment, he spun and slashed vertically through the air.

He looked at Andrea and grinned ferally. "En garde."

* * *

-Present time-

Ashlee tried to turn away, but a sharp blade went to her throat. "Listen girlie, leave now and I won't have to rip off your head. Let me kill this brat."

Ashlee let her limbs loosen and submitted. Feeling the blade leave her throat and neck, she stepped away. She took another step forward and stopped. Corona appeared in her hand in a fiery blaze and she said, "There is no way in hell I am letting you hurt him."

She ran at him and jumped in the air, twisting herself around and bringing Corona down on his head. One of the arms blocked the Keyblade and the other sliced her shin. Ashlee landed on her uninjured leg and jumped away. She put her hand over her wound and muttered, "Weise heill." The injury sealed and her leg was good as new. She threw Corona and a pale blue fire trailed from it and into her hand. She swung it around, the fire burning any thorny vines that got too close to it. She released the Keyblade and it flew at the man. He ducked under it and grabbed the fiery whip. It didn't seem to faze him at all. He swung it through the air and brought Corona down on Ashlee. She rolled to the right and grabbed the crossguard. She broke the whip and ran at the man again.

He sidestepped as she ran up to him. She planted her heel, swerved around and continued to run at him, this time he didn't have the opportunity to dodge. Corona slashed across his stomach and he fell over, his smug appearance disappearing. In a tight swing, she sliced him in half vertically. The two halves of the body fell to the ground, both halves dissolved into nothingness.

* * *

Axel opened his eyes, the first thought was: _Why am I not nothing paste in the hands of a giant Nobody?_ He immediately realized why. The Assassins that had accompanied him had formed a wall to stop the weapon for him. Gard cried out in pain and Axel fell on his behind. The giant hand that had previously held him in a death grip was now disappearing next to him.

He got up and rubbed his chest. It was hard to breathe. "I guess you got me pretty good in the chest, Gard." He said, a grin beginning to form. Without turning around, he said, "Thanks Anil."

"Sir, it was all my pleasure. Would you like me to rid us of this barbarian?"

Axel turned to see the floating castle and nodded. "Yeah, you should. Something is brewing up there." With that, Axel got away and opened a mental link with Jasmine

_Yo._ She said evenly over the connection.

_Hey Jasmine, send me an image of where you are. I am done here._

_Sure thing, bro._ The only thing he could see for a moment was the image of a large, circular room. Soon, he saw black, thick thorns as well as Ashlee and that Ryan guy fighting in the center. Kevin was on the ground, unconscious. Axel let out a cheer as Ashlee threw a huge ball of fire at Ryan. There was a big explosion and Axel said, _Jasmine, that was fiery… D'you think that…_

_No, Kevin would kill you._

Without adding anything, Axel opened a portal and walked through it to watch the fight in person.

* * *

Ashlee's eyes widened when she realized that the ball of fire did nothing to the Nobody. She just barely twisted away from one of the scythe-like arm sword and caught the other with Corona. She twisted again, locking all three blades together and fell backwards, pulling Ryan with her. She swung Corona as she fell and made Ryan land on his back. He looked at Ashlee from his position and grinned. He retracted the swords; got back and sent them back out. This time, they were serrated

He dashed at Ashlee, swinging his arms wildly. Ashlee tried to jump to the side, but wasn't able to avoid getting her arm cut by the toothy blade. She screamed as she felt the sword slide over her bone. She clumsily avoided another swing made by Ryan. She shot a feeble ball of fire at him, which he easily deflected. Through her sweat and fatigue-blurred vision, she could see a frown form on his face.

"You were nowhere near as fun as number one. What a shame."

"Yeah... Well, what was up with that… Arm swinging thing back there?"

"Oh, just for laughs. Anyways, Ashlee was it? I am going to kill you now. Scream as loud as you want, don't scream, kick and flail. I really don't care."

He advanced slowly, the long, thin blades scraped along the ground. As he got closer to Ashlee, he raised his right arm. He stood in front of her and raised her chin with his foot. He raised his right arm above his head and swung it through the air, aiming for her neck. "Good night."

* * *

-An hour before-

Andrea twisted away from Ryan's scythe-like weapons and tried to strike him with Frost, but he vanished from sight and elbowed her in the back. She fell forwards and did a roll. She bounced back up, spun around and smashed Ryan's head with Frost. He was thrown away by the attack and righted himself. Holding his bleeding head with his hand, he yelled, "Holy shit! You actually hurt me! You actually made me bleed! This will be an amazing fight!"

She landed and smiled. "Glad I could make you feel happy before you die, bastard." She dashed at Ryan and slashed at his torso. He disappeared and reappeared behind her, the attack obviously missed. Just as the scythe swiped for her head, she dropped to her hands and sprang back up with her legs straight, delivering a kick to Ryan's chin. She flipped in the air, landed on his shoulders, spun around and jumped off. Just after she jumped, she twisted around and kicked Ryan square in the back. He stumbled forward and snarled, whipping around, bringing his scythe-like weapon around, aiming for her neck.

-Present time-

* * *

"Dick move, Anil." Gard chuckled, swinging his hammer at the smaller Nobody. She fell to the ground and rolled in between the massive Nobody's legs. She bounced up and slashed a slender, bladed arm across his back.

"It's the old Gard we know and love, which is just great. The last thing we need is a copy of you from your employ under _her_."

"What the hell are you talking about? I hate her."

Anil chuckled and swayed to the right, avoiding the hammer again. "I didn't expect you to remember. After all, that Heartless removed your memory after killing you and her. Wait, sorry, after removing your hearts. Too bad you don't remember anything."

"Nothing Anil? I remember nothing you say? Heh, I think Jan can tell you that I remember what I did to her sister so many years ago. Her sister's final words were something along the lines of 'Please stop! It hurts!'."

Anil gritted her teeth and swore under her breath. "How?"

"Hah! Pretty easy Anil, I don't forget things easily. But, back on the topic of my story, I liked how her screams were suddenly cut off as the knife went through her chest and came out bloody on the other end." He tossed a knife at Anil. She caught it and saw the rusted blade, the smell of old blood was still on it. "You… Bastard!" She screamed. She lunged at Gard, throwing caution to the winds. It was the first time in fifteen years Anil showed any sign of emotion.

* * *

"Heh, hello there, Ryan." Tom said, behind the Nobody's back. He whirled around and struck at Tom, who made a brick wall form between the two. Jasmine ran and pulled Ashlee away, leaving Tom alone with the powerful Nobody. The wall exploded and the fragments of rock flew at Ryan, who dodged them all like it was a part of his morning workout.

The dust cleared and Ryan stood there, grinning. "I am amazed you recovered so quickly from that little trauma you had back there, rock boy. I am happy about that. After all, I can't have a sad little bugger like you being sad as I rip you apart. Nope, I enjoy angry rippees to be honest. He ran at Tom, who stepped to the right and punched Ryan in the chest with a stone-covered fist. Ryan was flung back by the force of the blow; he twisted around in the air so he could land properly, only to see a long, stone spike rushing towards him. His head and the spike connected. Several more shot from the ground, pinning his arms, legs and torso. A big rock, the same size as Ryan floated over top. Tom stood just behind where the rock would land and said, "This is for Andrea." The giant rock fell and crushed Ryan.

He walked back to the group, staying on his guard. _Somehow, when Ashlee cut him in half, Ryan came back. As unlikely as it was, there was the possibility that Ryan could come back from being crushed under a giant rock._

To their joy, Ryan didn't attack them, the rock didn't shift, it seemed like he was truly dead. Tom and Axel worked together to lift Kevin, being careful to avoid hurting him more so than he already was. Jasmine and Adell worked on bandaging up Ashlee's hurt arm.

The group made their way out of the castle and was standing on the platform that would take them back when someone from behind them yelled, "YOU ASSFACES!" Tahlia ran at them and lunged at the platform as it started moving away. "You jerks left me behind! Uh, where's Andrea?" Jasmine, Tom, Adell and Rozalin looked away. "She's dead." Tom said. At that moment, a gummy ship flew next to them and its hatch opened, letting the people on the platform in.

"Hey Cid, they're all here!" Yuffie yelled at the pilot of the gummi ship. She looked at Kevin and Ashlee and sighed. "It's a good thing we brought Aerith along." Her eyes widened as she noticed Axel. She jumped back and screamed, "Holy crap! It's the Organization!" The other redhead standing next to him caused an even more intense reaction from Yuffie. "IT'S TAHLIA!"

Axel bent down so his mouth was level with Tahlia's ear and muttered, "You know her?" Tahlia didn't reply, but just grinned widely. "Yuffie!" They hugged, tears ran down Yuffie's cheeks. "Tahlia, is that really you? You're alive!"

* * *

Kevin woke up in a comfy bed a few hours later with a warm, smooth arm draped over his bandaged chest. Kevin, still groggy sighed and smiled like a drunk. Suddenly, the realization that an arm that was most likely attached to a living person was lying on his chest snapped him out of his trance and he turned his head to see who was with him and saw Ashlee, wearing a shirt and fully clothed, but Kevin was wearing only pants and a bandage that was wrapped around his chest. His eyes widened and he blushed furiously. "WHAT THE HELL?!"

Axel, who was sitting on the couch with Jasmine, Tom and Namine that was in Rose's living room downstairs said, "Looks like one of them is up." He stood up, putting down his coffee and walked upstairs, the other three following close behind. When they got into the room, Kevin was sprawled on the floor, blushing furiously, Ashlee was screaming something, bashing him with a pillow and Jasmine, who was behind Axel, was cackling.

Kevin sat up, for he was now able to do so because Ashlee's vicious pillow beating had come to an end. He glared at Jasmine and said, "What is so funny?" Jasmine stopped her cackling and said, "I have done it! Yes, I have perfected the ultimate in revenge! You, Kevin were carried and tucked into the bed next to Ashlee's in order for you to suffer the ultimate humiliation! I win, for I am Jasmine! Bahahah!" Kevin sighed and said, "What exactly did I do wrong?" "Being an idiot." She replied. Kevin looked over at Axel and said, "Hey, I think your sister is broken." Axel said, "No, actually. She kind of isn't Jasmine" He smacked his sister on the head and there was a puff of smoke. When it cleared Kevin saw Tahlia standing in Jasmine's place. She looked up at him, on the verge of tears. She sacked him and said, "You big jerk! That hurt!" Axel let out a wheeze of air and fell over.

Namine smiled and said, "While Axel is trying to get back on his feet, I am going outside to see Roxas bye!" Axel reached a hand out to Namine and gasped, "Roxas?" Tahlia sighed and helped Axel up. She dragged him out of the room saying, "Four hours of griping about not finding Roxas and Namine doesn't even bring it up? I will have to hurt her." Kevin, Ashlee and Tom sat there for a few seconds, listening to Tahlia mutter about Tahlia being a twit and finally, Kevin said, "What happened, how did we get here and where's Andrea?"

Ashlee said, "Oh! Good question, so Tom, tell us what happened."

"Well, let's see here. Ryan kicked both of your asses, I kicked his. Rozalin and Adell are with Yuffie, Leon, Cid and Merlin, who are headed to Twilight Town, and Andrea is dead."

* * *

"Sir, my objective is complete. I did as you said and destroyed the target." Venxik walked towards the bowed Nobody and said, "Good. I am glad we could have made a compromise. You help me, and I will fix your memories and ultimately return your heart. I trust you and Dawn have both done what I wanted and have reactivated the device."

The Nobody nodded his head without looking up and said, "Yes sir, we have. It is near completion." Venxik grinned and said, "Good. Thank you, you are dismissed."

* * *

Author's Note: FEFF! I hated this chapter. At the end, I was more okay with it, but I really would like to get a gun and shoot this chapter if that was physically possible. –grumble grumble- But, it was because of where everything was taking place. Now that the scene has changed, we can begin anew. Also, don't worry. I haven't forgotten about our favourite final boss from KH or the evil witch with the cackle. Now then, off to bed.


	35. The Battle Begins

Chapter Thirty-Five: The Battle Begins

* * *

Raynx stood bent over a table, working hard at something small. Axdrane, leaning against the wall of the lab said, "Hey Raynx, what are you working on exactly?" "Not now Axdrane, pass me a short wire." He said, holding a hand out. She placed the shortest wire she could find in the palm of his outstretched hand. He took it and looked at it for a few seconds to make sure it was the right size. It wasn't, it was too big. Raynx was preparing to pull Dreggan from its sheath, but decided against it. He picked up a miniscule black box up from the table and crushed it in his hands. "Enough of this mad science crap; I am going to stick to sorcery. If you want to watch, come along."

Raynx lead Axdrane through a winding hall deep within the Heartless world, they walked for an hour before stopping in front of a large black door with the symbol of the Heartless carved into it. He was about to open it, but paused. He turned around to face Axdrane and said, "Actually, it would be a good idea if you just stayed out here. One of you would die if you came in here, either he would die of embarrassment, or you would die from a massive nosebleed." Axdrane was confused by that and asked, "What do you mean?" Raynx grinned at her and said, "You will have to see for yourself." "Well than, I'm coming in." "Nope. See you in about an hour. Revival is not too easy of a job for anyone."

"Okay. Sorry Tom, please repeat yourself. I believe I misheard you. Andrea is dead?" Tom nodded, not bothering to say anything. Ashlee gasped, holding her hands up to her mouth. Kevin got up and said, "Tom, there's nothing we can do. We need to go on ahead." Tom glared at him and said, "Where exactly do we go, Kevin? What should we do?" "Well, we could seal the keyhole here. We haven't gotten around to that yet." Kevin replied. "Nope, Roxas did that for us. He is also going to be coming with us, Axel, Namine and Jasmine will be close behind. Oh… We forgot Axel at Radiant Garden, you know, Dark Hero Axel." Tom smacked his forehead for forgetting

Kevin put a shirt on over his bandages and walked outside to where Axel, who stood with his legs spaced apart slightly, Roxas, Namine, Jasmine and Tahlia all stood. Ashlee and Tom were close behind. "So." Kevin said, "Someone was left behind at Radiant Garden, a certain Dark Hero. We need to go back there and pick him up; do you guys have any suggestions on travel options?"

"Well," Axel said, "We could always go with Expedia." Tahlia looked at him for a second, glared and said, "No!" She backhanded him and Tom said, "There's a Visine for that." Jasmine backhanded him and Kevin bit back the urge to comment on it. "So, besides product placement, what are our options?" Ashlee looked at the people assembled and said, "We can just leave the Dark Hero there." Kevin nodded and said, "Good idea! So, what now?"

* * *

Raynx looked down at the body on the lab table. It was that of a teenaged human male. He was wearing black jeans and a black hoody. The body was dead when Ryan found it, but he dabbled into some necromancy to give it back all of its functions. So, while he came up with the means of putting the soul back in, he kept the body alive and in shape by helping it exorcise and feeding it. It was kind of like treating a coma patient. He checked heart and breathing rates, both were normal and the teen's brainwaves were normal as well.

The thing was a living shell, lacking a soul. He had sent Halixat to bring him the right soul. Out of all the Heartless, she was the only one that had the ability to walk across the border of life and death and live to tell about it.

* * *

Halixat stepped on to the center of the Altar of Naught and closed her eyes, feeling with her mind. She opened them and walked seven paces to her left and said, "So this is where the shorty died. Good, he's close enough for it to be easy." She turned around slowly, seeing Venxik and said, "Great day for a walk, isn't it, boss-man?" She disintegrated, the small flecks of darkness disappearing into the night sky.

Halixat's feet hovered an inch above a slowly moving body of water. Everything was deathly silent except for the distant roar of the waterfall. She hovered along the surface of the water until her feet connected with a man that was lying face down in the water. He was wearing a white hooded cloak with strange black markings on it. A black gloved hand reached out for her leg and he said, "Take me out of here. Get me out, now." He tugged at her ankle, pulling her in to the water. The man sat up and removed his hood. His face seemed haunted, and his silver hair was messy.

"Let me out… Now" Halixat kicked his arm away with her free hand and backed away. _Crap, this isn't good. This spirit is strong; he hasn't been warped at all by the river. He's a bit weak, but that's all._ She pulled two daggers out from her pockets and held them ready. The man stood up and the current picked up, as well as the roar of the waterfall. Two long, red lasers extended from his hands and he said, "Take me out. Now." He vanished from sight and smashed Halixat across the back with one of his weapons. She fell into the water and got up before she was dragged away.

_How the hell? Was he faking his weakness? The Dead aren't that cunning!_ She ducked under one of the outthrust blades, but was struck in the chest by the other. She was flung backwards by the force of the attack and she landed in the water, being pulled downstream once again. She righted herself and thought, _The Dead aren't cunning, but the Greater Dead are. Is this guy some sort of Greater Dead thing?_ The man flickered, but stayed in sight. Something grabbed Halixat by the ankle, swung her around so that her head was dragged through the shallow water and she was thrown up in the air. As she began her descent, the man flew at her from the right with black and silver thorns swarming around him. She got cut several times by the small magical thorns and then both of the red laser blades smacked her on the back of the head. The force of the attack made her fall quickly to the rushing water below.

Something sharp poked at her from all sides. She tried moving her arms, but found that only lead to the thorns that now had her bound in mid air to cut her deeper. She looked up as the man walked towards her. "Give me the strength to return to life." He said, bringing his hand closer to Halixat's forehead.

* * *

"We go to End of the World." Roxas said. Everyone present looked at him like he was weird. "End of the World?" Kevin asked, "Do you mean that place Sora fought Ansem?" Roxas nodded and said, "The very same place. We have eight people with us. Namine will come, seeing as how she says she will follow us even if we leave her behind. I don't want her to come, but she insists." Namine glared at him and Roxas continued, "We do want to take care of Venxik, right? We want our homes and hearts back, don't we? Well why are we standing around on this world? I have been looking around for any leads to the location of the Heartless, and it only makes sense that they are there. I say we take the fight to them and we end the Heartless." Axel nodded and said, "It's a good idea, but how do we get there? Don't you think it would be a bit dangerous to get there using the portals?" Roxas grinned and replied, "Well, actually it will be more than a bit dangerous by portal or gummi ship. The world is somewhere in between Radiant Garden and where The World That Never Was used to be. Or, at least it's my theory. Some of the worlds seem to have moved around since Sora first beat Ansem."

"We could try to get a Heartless to lead us there. All we need is for one to show up, convince it to leave and hope that we can follow it." Kevin suggested. "I know how to get there," Roxas said, "The problem is getting there without facing heavily stacked odds against us." "Kevin told Tom, Jasmine and I something about Sora taking on a thousand Heartless and beating them. If there are eight of us, four of which are Keybearers, won't it be a bit easy?" Ashlee asked. "No Ashlee. There could be a thousand Heartless, but that thousand could very easily be made up of Invisibles. I doubt even Sora could stand up to that, which means we would be toast as well." "Sora isn't that strong, he would also get crushed if we decided to attack him." Jasmine stated. Roxas groaned and said, "That isn't my point. If we are in a crowd of one thousand Invisibles, that would mean we each get just over a hundred to kill. I doubt any one person could even take thirty at once."

"Roxas, either you give us the a-okay and take us there, or I go there myself." Kevin said, irritated. "We are getting nowhere with this. I want my home back, everyone here does. So let's just go." Roxas scowled at Kevin and said, "No. We can't do that, we need to think things through before we charge into the enemy's front lines and attack them. We need to wait." Kevin took a deep breath to calm himself down and said, "Okay. If you want to think it through, please stop making your original plan seem stupid by throwing in these other thoughts. Please, just stop it." Roxas, whose back was turned from Kevin, was facing Axel and Jasmine grinned at the two Nobodies, who started to laugh quietly.

A strong wind filled up the small area and the gates to the Second District were blasted open. A ball of darkness shot through and slammed into the wall of the shop behind the group, destroying the wall. A man jumped up from where the fountain was located and asked, "Did you miss me?" He walked through and crushed a rock that was under his foot. "What a way to act macho." Jasmine said in an annoyed voice. She summoned her chakram and threw it at the man who caught it barehanded and crushed it. He opened his hand and small shards of flaming metal fell to the cobblestone ground.

"Dear girl, is that all?" He asked, a sickening smile forming on his face. "Of course not." She replied from behind the man. He turned around only to see a flaming fist flying to his face. It connected and the man was sent backwards. He smashed his head on the cobblestone pavement and got back up like nothing happened. He rubbed his chin and chuckled. "Such a punch you have there. Any mortal man would have had their brains scrambled from an attack like that. And so much speed! I didn't even notice you vanish!" Tom, Roxas, Namine and Tahlia were pushed back as a barrier enclosed the man, Kevin, Ashlee, Axel and Jasmine in together.

"I think it is only fair that I take out four at a time. I believe all victims deserve a sporting chance." He said, facing the new entrants. Kevin's eyes narrowed and he asked, "Rould?" Rould began to laugh again and said, "Yes Kevin! It is great to see you again. I am quite honored to have you for a grandson!" Kevin was about to ask what he was talking about, but he froze. He looked over at Ashlee, who was also looking at him. They blushed furiously and looked away immediately.

_I didn't do anything. I SWEAR!_ Kevin yelled at Ashlee mentally, _Neither did I._ She replied. _He means marriage, you idiots._ Tom said, groaning mentally at the two. _I knew that. _Kevin said, _As did I._ Tom grinned and said, _Yeah right._

"Luxord? No way! So nice to see you, cardboy!" Axel yelled at the Heartless. Rould turned to face him and said, "Luxord? My Nobody? No, sorry. He is still in the black abyss, waiting for his heart to join him. Lea says 'Hi,' by the way." A giant Heartless with a tentacles coming out from all over its body descended from the sky, just above Rould. Kevin looked up at it and asked, "What the hell is that thing?"

"PATHETIC NOBODY. I AM TOMB MASTER, GUARDIAN OF THE SECRETS OF THE HEAVENS. DO NOT SAY SUCH TAINTED WORDS IN MY PRESENCE." It said in a deep, booming voice that seemed to make the very ground shake. People that were in their houses quickly vacated, screaming. Tomb Master's tentacles shot out, grabbing several of the people rushing out, one of them being Rose and dragged them to him. Rose wrapped her hands around one of the tentacles and squeezed until her knuckles turned white. She let out a whoosh of air and cried, "Freeze!" the tentacle became encased in ice, Rose let go and pulled out her staff, which she had strapped to her back. She smashed the butt-end of it onto the tentacle, shattering the part that had a grip on her. As she was falling, she used the fire spell rapidly to help slow her fall and she landed gracefully, doing a slight bow as an actress would after an exceptional performance. She turned around and ran after Ashlee told her to leave via mental link.

The others however weren't so lucky. Before anyone could do anything to help, the tentacles rolled them up into makeshift cocoons and squeezed the life out of the victims, throwing the lifeless bodies to the ground, where they landed with soft thuds, except for the one that broke his already useless skull. A tentacle shot down to grab Kevin and it dragged him over to Rould, who was smiling widely now. "NOW MASTER, DO AS YOU PLEASE TO THIS URCHIN." Tomb Master said to Rould. Rould placed his hand on Kevin's forehead and said, "I will indeed."

Kevin wrenched one of his hands free and grabbed Rould by the wrist. "Get your hand off of me, you bastard." Kevin growled. Rould grinned and said, "Or what? You'll… Oh my." Darkness began flowing away from where Kevin's hand was and traveled down the length of Kevin's arm. Rould ripped his arm away and looked up at Tomb Master. "It would seem I am in need of your services more than I thought."

* * *

"Who… Who are you?" Halixat asked through clenched teeth. The man grinned and grabbed her chin so that she was looking up at him, directly into golden eyes. "My name is Xemnas." He said in a drawling tone. Halixat's eyes widened. _How is that possible? Do Nobodies exist after death in the river? I came here only to amuse Raynx... Maybe the soul he needs really is here. _She took in a deep breath and sank through the thorns, avoiding making contact and landed on the water. The tide tugged her out from underneath her prison and she jumped back up, running at Xemnas with two daggers held ready to stab him in the back. He turned to face her, golden eyes burning with a new desire. He stretched out his arm, opened his palm and shot a ball of energy at Halixat that froze her in place. He lifted the ball and its captive above the water and asked, "Can you spare… a heart?"

"Not on my watch, Mansex." A large, green sword fell down on Xemnas, pushing him into the water. The sphere holding Halixat shattered and she fell into the water. The current roared into life and began to drag the girl when the person that had attacked Xemnas grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the water. "I don't think we have ever been acquainted before, even when Galbatorix was using me. My name is Xunahs, what about you?" Halixat looked at his warm smile and green hair and said, "My… name is Halixat." She started blushing furiously. _Oh crap… Not good, I can't do this now! Crap, crap, crap!_

Xunahs looked at her. He was easily five inches taller than her. He couldn't help but stare at her dark-plum hair and almost collapsed when he saw her silver eyes. No one had that effect on him since that girl back in Uru'Baen, who was most likely long gone by now. He let his right foot slide so that it was three feet ahead of his left foot and held his large sword in front of him with a menacing smile tugging at his lips. He looked at Halixat and asked, "You ready?" Halixat smiled and said, "Yep. Totally ready." She drew her two daggers and held them ready to stab the Nobody that blocked their way to life. "Get ready, Xemnas. I am going to make sure you go past the ninth gate." Halixat yelled.

"Such simpletons." Xemnas said. He floated up in the air and stretched his arms apart and the area surrounding them became filled with red lasers. He closed his arms yelling, "Now die!" and the missiles flew at the two Heartless. Xunahs and Halixat put every ounce of strength they could into deflecting the projectiles that flew at them. After what felt like an eternity, the black dome they had been trapped in exploded and Xemnas just outside of where the dome was, scowling at the two Heartless. "I will destroy you both and make sure you are sent beyond the ninth gate. I will…" His words were cut off, however as Halixat threw her two daggers at the Nobody. One impaling his throat, the other dug into his skull. He let out a pained gasp and fell into the water, the current pulling him beyond the first gate.

* * *

Halixat tugged on Xunahs' arm, dragging him towards life. "We don't have much time; Xemnas will be able to come back. He won't remain dead because of a couple of daggers." Xunahs looked confused and so he asked, "What do you mean?" Halixat was equally as confused by his question and replied in a hurried voice, "He's already dead, all that will do is conk him out, the moment he wakes up, he will come back to get us. We need to get out of here now; Raynx is waiting for you with a body ready." There was a small flash and the daggers returned to the bandolier strapped across Halixat's chest. She swore and said, "He's up already! We need to run!" Xunahs frowned and said, "I have an idea…" Halixat looked up at him and asked, "What would that idea be?" Without saying a word, Xunahs lifted and threw Halixat towards the barrier that separated life and death and Xunahs ran close behind her.

Venxik paced the lab where Dawn and Gard stood, working hard on the device he needed. With them were some more intelligent Heartless with better hand-eye coordination than others, mostly the Invisibles. They were pretty much the swiss army knives of the Heartless, according to Venxik.

"Dawn, how much longer do you think you will need to prepare the machine?" He asked. Dawn wiped her forehead and said, "Not much longer if we keep on working at this rate and the damned Heartless and Gard don't keep screwing up. NO! GARD, THAT DOESN'T GO THERE! Anyways, I am guessing five hours, but if we keep getting screw ups like this, it could be another month."

Venxik nodded and said, "I see. Thank you Dawn, you are a big help. Heck, maybe I will let you use the machine once we have it functioning." "That would be great."

* * *

"Gabrielle, can you please stop with your fussing?" Vice asked in an annoyed voice. "I know Gard's betrayal and the fact that he is retaining his memories are upsetting, but we have had our suspicions on who Venxik really is, and this only helps to reinforce them. And think about those worlds that Venxik have destroyed; they were all destroyed in the same manner as our own, fifteen years ago! Waves of darkness wash over everyone, stealing their hearts and the darkness acts like a liquid and falls into every crack there is until it finds the Keyhole, destroys the heart and then he goes on to another world. Let's face it, Gabrielle. They are one in the same, and if they aren't, and they decide to get chummy, the universe is screwed up the rear."

* * *

Halixat flew out of thin air and landed on the platform that sat before the giant Kingdom Hearts moon. Xunahs jumped out and landed square on his feet and immediately realized he was starting to fade. "What's happening?" Xunahs cried, looking at his now translucent hands. Halixat ground her teeth and said, "I didn't think it would happen this quickly. We need to run and get that body Raynx has sitting for you." "But why can't I exist here?" Xunahs asked as he was being pulled through a portal. "Because," Halixat said, "you are completely made out of darkness without anything to sustain your form. All you are is your collection of memories and your soul; you have no body or heart, which is why Raynx prepared a body for you in advance, knowing something like this would happen." They appeared in the lab where Xunahs' new body lay, it looked exactly like him and he asked, "What now?"

"Climb in." Raynx said from the other side of the table. Xunahs looked confused, but didn't want to question his brother. He stepped on top of the table over the body and stepped onto the chest. His foot sank in and he let out a yelp as he was sucked in through the chest. The body twitched for a few minutes and Raynx and Halixat stood there holding their breath. Finally, Xunahs gasped and began to breathe. He sat up, looking around the room with silver eyes and said, "Wow that was weird. I feel… Different, like before Venxik attacked us, Raynx" Raynx nodded and said, "That's because you are a human now. You have a body, heart and soul; the three components for a human body. We are still trying to figure out whether or not a mind exists in there, so we will let you know once we have reached a conclusion. Xunahs glared at his brother and slid off the table. "Fine, you ass. I will just have to do something to prove I have a mind." He entered Raynx' mind and said, _Is this proof enough?_ Raynx nodded. "Yes, it is. We have to make sure this body works for you. Summon your weapon." Xunahs did as instructed and Ryan nodded. "Good. What about powers?" Xunahs shoot his head and said, "I can't do much in the way of using my powers unless I have a living thing to test them on."

Raynx nodded and opened a portal, walked through and motioned for Halixat and Xunahs to join him. They walked out of the portal and found themselves in an arena. Several men surrounded them, holding sharp weapons and a voice echoed throughout the arena, saying, "We now have three new combatants! Can they take on the most dangerous men in the Netherworld?" Raynx and Halixat turned and stood against a pillar while Xunahs stood facing the men. Before, he would have grinned happily at the thought of slaughtering the triumphant looking men, but now he was feeling conflicted, like something was stopping him.

"Begin!" The voice yelled. The men let out a mighty roar and charged at Xunahs as one group. Xunahs took in a deep breath and tried to sink into the ground, but he couldn't. He ground his teeth and charged at the leading man and sliced him down the middle with the massive sword. The man paled as the wound on his chest became quickly infected and he fell over, dead. Xunahs felt his heart skip a beat and he stopped momentarily. "Something's wrong with him." Halixat whispered to Raynx. Raynx scowled and replied, "It would seem as though Xunahs has regained his empathy. Well, that isn't good. Let's take care of these men and drag Xunahs back for further testing." Halixat nodded and ran with Raynx. The two easily dispatched the men attacking Xunahs and dragged him back through a portal to the lab again, leaving the crowd at the arena dumbfounded. "Uh, I believe the three squirts won. But where did they go?"

"You're a human." Raynx said to Xunahs. "Completely and totally human, and because of that, the lighter side of your heart is kicking in, keeping you from doing anything of use to me. We need to remedy that." A ball of darkness formed in his hand and he lunged at Xunahs, who sidestepped, did a small spin and smashed Raynx with the butt of his sword. "No Raynx, I don't want to go back to the darkness again. I am a human and I can live without having the urge to hurt others. I don't want any part in your plans. I'm going to go find my brother. The one that actually decided to help me when I fell behind. You have done nothing but kick me while I'm down. Well, no more because I'm gone." He released a thick, purple smokescreen and ran out of the room, leaving the two blinded Heartless behind.

"Find him!" Raynx yelled. "We need him back!" Halixat nodded and felt her way out of the room. Once it was all clear, she ran after Xunahs again, following the distant pulse of his heart.

_Crap, I'm being followed._ Xunahs thought. He walked into the inactive volcano and jumped up a few of the landings before crouching against the wall, waiting for his pursuers to appear and attack. He heard a set of footsteps enter below and he heard Halixat yell, "Xunahs, just come with us, okay?" Xunahs squeezed his eyes shut and sent a mental probe into Halixat's mind. He apologized to her for what he was going to do and attacked her mind. She let out a shocked cry and fell over, unconscious. "Sorry, Halixat." Xunahs muttered. He looked back up and continued his ascent.

"Halixat is down. I can't send everyone after Xunahs. He has learned a few tricks, and no one knows how to stop them, even I can't. I have no other choice but to let him escape. DAMN IT!" Raynx smashed his fist on the table, breaking it in half. He opened a portal and walked through it. He had one other idea.

Xunahs ran along the scattered remains of the worlds, he was close to the exit now and he could finally get out and be safe. Or at least, he hoped he would be. Suddenly, a giant black foot landed in front of him. He stumbled and rolled into the leg. He got up and looked up at the two Darkside Heartless that blocked his path. Raynx jumped down from one of their shoulders and landed gracefully in front of Xunahs. "Xunahs, you have two options. One, you can submit and let me take your heart, or these two up here take it for me." Xunahs looked from the yellow eyes of the two Darksides to the golden eyes of Raynx.

He grinned and said, "I think I will take option three, destroy the Darksides, incapacitate you and get the hell out of here." He sent a mental probe to Raynx' mind and attacked it much more viciously than he had Halixat's. Raynx howled in pain and fell to the ground, clutching at his head. The two Darksides advanced and both threw a punch at Xunahs. He jumped away from the two fists and landed on the fist belonging to the Darkside on the right. He ran up the arm and stabbed his sword through its head. The poison reacted quickly and the Darkside disappeared. Xunahs lunged at the other one and removed its head with a quick slash. That Darkside disappeared as well.

Xunahs landed next to Raynx and said, "I won't kill you now, your time has almost come. I am bringing Kevin here, and there's nothing you can do to stop me." Xunahs ran into the small cave behind Raynx and looked around. He walked in, there was a flash of light and he disappeared.

* * *

Axel threw both his chakrams at the tentacle that had bound Kevin, and Ashlee and Jasmine jumped up to the body of Tomb Master to give it a beating. "STOP!" Ashlee yelled. The giant Heartless froze, and Jasmine came above it with her fist on fire once again and Ashlee ready to strike with Corona ablaze as well. The two of them struck the Heartless with all their strength and bounced off. Ashlee concentrated and warped gravity so that their descent slowed and the two moved in on the Heartless, giving it a flurry of kicks, punches and strikes. "Wow Jasmine, you're on fire!" Ashlee yelled at her friend. "Yeah, yeah nice job with the gravity thing, didn't know you could do that." They landed on the ground as the effects of the Stop spell wore off and watched Tomb Master vibrate violently, shedding its tentacles. Finally, it exploded in a ball of darkness and a giant, pink heart floated off.

The group of four looked at Rould and Kevin said, "Well. That was unfortunate for me. I really do need to step it up a bit. I need to stop getting kidnapped, so Rould, I hope you don't take this personally." He ran at Rould, electricity running up and down Vortex and leapt into the air, bringing the Keyblade down on his head. Rould buckled under the force of the blow, and hit the ground. Kevin jumped back, prepared for the Heartless to counter.

Rould stood up, chuckling and said, "That was quite the hit." Sparks were running along his arms and he dashed at Kevin and picked him up by the throat. Kevin' eyes widened as he felt like he was losing himself, like parts of him were getting ripped from his very soul. He struggled to break free and let a huge field of energy surge out around him. It entrapped both him and Rould, who started screaming as his body was electrocuted. Kevin dropped down, choking and feeling very weak. Whatever was taken from him returned swiftly and he was back on his feet, albeit shaky.

He swayed in place, threatening to fall over again and stood back up. He walked into the energy field and grabbed Rould's wrist. _I don't know what happened there when I grabbed him before, but I took something from him. I want to see if it happens again._ He focused on Rould and soon found darkness flowing around him. He concentrated on that darkness and felt it rush towards him. He snapped open his eyes and looked up at Rould and down at his hand, where a ball of darkness circled it.

He stretched out his arm and felt the ball of darkness vibrate excitedly. He let it go and it flew at Rould, exploding in his face. Kevin looked down at his hand, and then at Rould, who was now injured by the attack and said, "That was epic." Rould snarled and charged at him, with a sinister, jagged sword drawn and ready to strike. The barrier surrounding the two shrank so that only the two of them were in it and Rould launched a black flame at Kevin, who ducked, rolled and shot several balls of lightning in a sweeping motion. Rould was struck by one of the seven balls, and Kevin twisted his hands and fingers around so that the balls moved around Rould and hit him from all sides. Kevin ran at the stunned Rould and slashed his arm with Vortex, spun around and smashed his back. He jumped back and out of the way from one of Rould's swings and landed on the ground.

"Enough of this mockery." Rould spat. "Come, my minion!" A black hole ripped open the starry night sky. A Darkside Heartless fell through the hole and landed softly behind Rould, who turned around and grabbed its ankle. Darkness pooled around the two Heartless and the Darkside exploded, its darkness flowing into Rould. He grew massively, arms and legs becoming muscular and a heart-shaped cavity appeared in his chest. His flesh turned black and the sword in his hand grew to fit his hands. He scowled down at Kevin and said, "Now it is the end, Keybearer."

A giant fist flew down to Kevin and fell into the ground, generating a shockwave that threw everyone back and pulverized nearby houses. Kevin landed on his back and rolled out of the way of the giant sword that flew towards him. It cut deep into the ground and Kevin took that as his opportunity to run up Rould's massive arm. However, he was hit hard with the fist that had been removed from the ground and was flung against the barrier.

"Kevin!" Ashlee yelled. Rould looked at her and laughed heartily. "There is no use. Your voice cannot reach the dead." Kevin groaned and stood up. He glared at Rould and said, "Dead, am I? I am feeling quite lively right now. You won't be in a few seconds." Rould laughed at his comment and said, "How? You can't get to me fast enough to hurt me." Kevin grinned, showing his teeth and asked, "Oh? And what if I were to do this?" He stretched his arms out wide and brought them together with a loud clap that sounded like thunder. Black clouds formed over the arena and lightning bolts struck the ground around Kevin. They cleared and Kevin was standing there wearing a dark yellow and black jacket with black jeans.

Electricity crackled around him and a second Keyblade appeared in his left hand. He launched himself from the ground and flew at Rould's head, both Keyblades sparking with electricity. He slashed repeatedly at Rould's head and shoulders, so fast it was almost hard to follow. Kevin jumped up in the air and spun both Keyblades wildly and a black cloud formed above his head. He did a roll and pointed the Keyblades down at Rould's head and roared "THUNDAGA!" Several bolts of lightning struck Rould where Kevin hit him and Kevin fell down after them, charging himself with electricity. "This is the end!" He yelled as both him and his two Keyblades flew through Rould.

Rould let out an agonized cry as his massive body broke up and his original form fell to the ruined ground. The barrier shattered and the other seven Nobodies surrounded Rould. Rould coughed violently. "This… Isn't the end Keybearers. Master, please give me the strength to continue." "No." Someone said, using Rould's mouth as his own. This new man's voice was evil and full of malice. "You have lost all of your usefulness to me. I lent you my powers and allowed you to take on these fools, but I have recovered all the strength I need. You are worthless." Black flecks flew off of Rould and formed into an old man. He had a full head of white hair and his eyes were golden-red. His skin was pale and his mouth was set in a malicious grin and brought down the same jagged sword Rould had been using in battle against Kevin down across Rould's neck.

The darkness that made up Rould floated away, the man tsked and held out his hand, absorbing the darkness into himself, leaving only a heart to float off. "Who are you?" Kevin asked. The man, noticing the Nobodies surrounding him said, "My name is of no importance." He raised his eyebrow at Kevin and said, "You are Venxik's prison, I assume. I wonder how that affected him. I have been neglectful of him ever since the two of you were bound together." Kevin narrowed his eyes and asked, "What do you mean old man?" The man chortled at the Nobodies that had gotten into their battle stances and asked, "Do you really believe you can defeat me? You Nobodies are so entertaining." He waved his hand and walked through a portal.

"Ouch, did he ever diss us." Axel said, standing straight again. Tom asked, "Who was that guy?" Everyone looked at Roxas, hoping he knew, or Sora had met the man at some point. Roxas bowed his head, looking defeated and said, "I have no clue. Maybe we should see King Mickey, maybe he knows something." Tahlia frowned and said, "Who gives a shit? Did you guys _see_ the badassery that is Kevin in action? He totally crushed Rould! Do you know what happened there with the changing of clothes, by the way?"

"I think, it was a form." Roxas said. "You mean like Sora's Valour, Wisdom, Master or Final Forms?" Kevin asked. "Yeah, I think so. However, we need to get out of here and ask Mickey. I am almost positive he would have some sort of idea about what is happening and who that was."

Kevin nodded. "Okay, let's go then. But how do we get there?" Roxas grinned, pulled a small black object from his pocket and pressed a button that was on it. A high pitched whine filled the air and a large ship flew overhead and landed in the second district. The eight Nobodies walked towards the ship and got into it. "Welcome, everyone to Falcon Peak, the fastest gummi ship on the market!" Roxas said. "Mickey got Cid to make it for me so I could have something to travel around the worlds in. I made some additions and gave it a paint job. So, let us head off to Disney Castle and hope we can get this mess sorted out."

* * *

Xunahs looked around the room he was in. "Where am I?" He asked no one in particular. There was a large, bright sphere in the centre of the room that had white bands of light shooting around the inside of it. He walked up to it and put his hand on it. "Well, that's weird." He said as he felt a tingling sensation travel through his body. He walked towards the exit and yelled, "Hello, is anyone here?" He walked up the stairs and smacked his head on the ceiling. "Well, that was pointless." He grumbled. He felt around the ceiling until his hand bumped a switch. He heard two people from above him give surprised yelps and he did the same as the ceiling was drawn back. Xunahs blinked at the sudden bright light and walked up and turned around to see two mice sitting in thrones that were obviously too tall for them.

"Uhm, excuse me. Could you tell me where I am?"

* * *

"Ahh! No, no, no, no, no! THIS IS BAD!" Axel, the Dark Hero cried as he ran around in circles around the director and camera man zombie. "Director, they left us here! They left us! Noooo! I will never be able to shine as the Dark Hero ever again!" Just then, a Defender Heartless appeared in front of him, its shield growling menacingly at him. Axel glared at it and said, "I don't need to deal with this crap!" He punched the shield as hard as he could, crushing it inwards and threw the Heartless over his shoulder and into the lake behind them.

"Axel, darling, we need to leave." Axel nodded and said, "I know we do. But how?" "Well, maybe we can hijack one of those gummi ship things and fly out." Axel frowned, shook his head and said, "Nah, I have a better idea." The director and camera man looked at him with wide eyes, waiting for the Dark Hero's brilliant idea. "We…" The two demons nodded quickly. "HIJACK A GUMMI SHIP! IT'S BRILLIANT AND TOTALLY MY OWN IDEA!" The director seemed to be on the verge of tears after Axel came up with the brilliant idea and started quivering. "Axel darling, it's a beautiful plan! No wonder you're the Dark Hero!" Axel grinned at the camera, cheesy looking glitter danced around his head and said, "Of course. I am too awesome to be anyone but the Dark Hero."

* * *

Author's Note: And so, chapter 35 ends with Axel the Dark Hero making up his own totally original ideas to get out of being stranded. Xunahs has a change of heart (or rather, body.) and a new foe(gy) appears. Halixat and Raynx got thrashed around a tad and three Darksides got beaten up today –does the Count ba-ha-ha-ha after counting each Darkside-. Now then, why did I make Xunahs get a body and thus become human, you ask? Because I saw him as being more of the heroic kind of type, which I don't see Heartless or Shaun being. So, I made Xunahs a hero by having Raynx give him a body in the hopes of throwing a scapegoat in to get Kevin and co's attention so he can kill them while they are unaware. A big thankee to kirin for suggesting a way to get around forgetting about Axel. At the end of each chapter for the next while, I will make a short omake about Axel being stuck and his various schemes to sucker people into getting him off of Radiant Garden.


	36. Return of Xunahs

Chapter 36: Xunah Returns

King Mickey looked at the young man standing in his throne room and said, "You are in Disney Castle. Can you please tell me who you are and how you got here?" _Name? Name... Crap! I need a name that doesn't make it seem like I am a part of Organization XIII, or one of the Heartless, which I was... Come on you stupid brain, think! Think!_ He sighed mentally and thought _I could always go with Shaun... But I don't know... it might give me away... Meh, I will just stick with Shaun._ Mickey and Minnie watched with rising amusement.

"Welp! It doesn't matter anyways. I know who you are; you were Xunahs, part of the Heartless under Venxik's control." Xunahs' eyes widened and he asked, "How did you know that?" A mischievous twinkle appeared in Mickey's eyes and he said, "I can read your mind." Xunahs' expression remained unchanged and he said, "Yes? And? I kind of have that ability too." Mickey laughed and jumped from his throne and walked to Xunahs and held out his hand. "I was kidding. I have an inside man that you probably remember from your past." Xunahs saw something flying at him just from out of the corner of his eye and caught it deftly between his two middle fingers.

* * *

The gummi ship floated over the castle garden and the eight Nobodies climbed down a rope ladder that extended from the ship. Two chipmunks identifying themselves as Chip and Dale ran up the rope ladder, pulled it in and sped off with the ship. "Did we just get jacked?" Tom asked. Roxas laughed and said, "No, those were Chip and Dale. They helped me get around and give me some ideas on how to use the gummi ship and a quick tutorial on building my own. So then, I think we should head up to the castle and into the hall.

Roxas went in front of a huge door and knocked on it twice. A small section of the door swung open and Roxas said to Kevin, "After you." Kevin walked through the door and saw something fly at him. He caught it before it hit him almost like he had done the drill thousands of times before. Which, indeed he did, with Jon, Galbatorix' head assassin. Kevin watched a long rope descend from the high ceiling and a man dressed in black with black and grey hair with a ponytail slid down the rope and landed on the floor. Kevin's eyes widened and he cried (almost squealed), "NO WAY! IT'S JON!"

Jon looked at the people filing into the room behind Kevin and saw two particular Nobodies that caught his interest. He warped and appeared behind Axel and Roxas, grabbed them by the shoulders and yelled in their ears, "Axel! Roxas! Both of you are here! Next thing you know, Demyx or Larxene will show up. I personally prefer the former rather than the latter." Roxas twisted out of Jon's grip and punched him in the scarred face. Axel helped Jon up, while Roxas fumed at the assassin for shouting so loudly. "Nice to see you, man, next thing you know, Marluxia will pop up or something."

Kevin was surprised by two things. One, Jon acting like he knew Axel and Roxas for a long time, and Axel and Roxas acting the same towards Jon.

"Uh, Jon... How do you know Roxas and Axel?" Jon straightened up and saw Xunahs walking over to join the others. "Prince number two, well if this isn't just perfect. I am and am not Jon. You see, I am really Xigbar, number II of Organization XIII. After I got a second chance at life, I took it and decided to help Mickey manage you squirts. One of the things I did was tip Galbatorix off about you guys. I was supposed to nab the rest of your friends, but that didn't work too well, seeing as how you aren't all brothers and sisters. I see that you have been keeping up with your knife grabbing skills, Kevin and Xunahs." Xunahs' peach cheeks paled and Kevin turned around to see him standing there. Kevin was about to lunge at Xunahs when Xigbar grabbed his shoulder.

"Whoa! Hey there shorty, don't go after him. He's a good guy. If he wasn't, he would have been dust by now." Xunahs' cheeks turned back to their fleshy colour and he said, "It's true. Raynx tried to bring me back to life after Venxik took care of me. It worked, obviously, but in the process, I became human again with a body of my own. And in this new body, I am taller than you, so ha." Kevin, still not believing the two, scanned Xunahs' mind and memories. He pulled back with wide eyes. "You took on Xemnas?!" Axel, Roxas and Xigbar looked amazed by the news. "WHAT THE HELL? YOU FOUGHT MANSEX?" Axel cried.

Xunahs blushed and said, "Well yeah, I had to if I wanted to get out of that damned river and back into a body." Tahlia ignored everything Xunahs said and only focused on the green hair on top of his head. She squealed in delight and everyone present looked at her like she was weird. Which, she was. "Uh, Tahl... Are you okay?" Jasmine asked. As if it were the only answer, Tahlia tackled Xunahs to the ground and squeezed him tight in her arms. Xigbar laughed and said, "Well! Dude still can't fend off hordes of fangirls. I told you the green hair was a bad idea."

"Air... I need air..." Xunahs gasped under the crushing power of Tahlia's loving hug.

_She's like a freaking boa constrictor!_ He yelled at Kevin mentally. _Hah, sucks to be you. I attract the non-crazies; you get all the ones that like the quiet, green-haired type. It suits me just fine. _Kevin replied, smirking at Xunahs. _Help me you bastard..._ Xunahs gasped.

Kevin sighed. As funny as it was, seeing the same person that left him for dead get strangled by a fangirl, he had to be the bigger man and get Tahlia off. He reached into the pocket of his hoody and pulled out a neon green bandana. "Hey Tahlia, look." Tahlia let go of Xunahs enough to let him escape and Kevin said, "If you leave fan girl mode, I may give this to you. Only if you promise to stop glomping the colour green." Tahlia pouted and mumbled, "Don't tell me you're going to ruin my fun too..." She swaggered over to the bandanna, grabbed it and tied it around her wrist.

"Wow. That chick is one special girl." Xigbar said, with his amber right eye widened. Xunahs walked up to Kevin and said, "Listen, about what was happening at the heart of Alagaesia, I'm sorry. There were two big things contributing to my attacking you. One was the fact that I was by a massive heart. The other was that Galbatorix was controlling me. It was like I was watching my body beat you up. But that was me saying that I wanted to do that helicopter spin-kick thing that you did to me. That was freaking epic. Galbatorix wasn't happy that my consciousness broke through long enough for me to say that, though."

"Heh. I bet he wasn't too thrilled about it. Like that time I practiced flying indoors and got tangled up in that tapestry." "Or that time I accidentally threw a butter knife at our guest. And I did it because he called me a short twerp that should have never been royalty." Xunahs sighed at the memories and Kevin grinned. "Yeah, well that guy was nowhere near as annoying as the slaver that tried to take us for slaves. After a while, he gave up, but sometimes he would wink at me in the streets."

Jasmine, getting bored of the reminiscing, stomped up to the two and smacked their heads. "I know that you are happy to see each other, but do the two of you realize it has only been a week since you two tried to _kill_ each other? Now that we have some awkwardness; I am happily awaiting someone here to passionately make out with the person next to them." She winked at Roxas and Axel.

"Now wait a minute!" Axel said. Roxas just stood dumbfounded. "Yes Axel, I bet you are going to announce your undying affection towards a girl in the furthest corner of the universe named Mary Sue. Am I right? Or maybe you are really gay, just for a man named Gary Stu."

Axel began to sweat. Either he told them, or Jasmine would never shut up. "I do not like Roxas or any guy! I like Larxene damn it! Her yellow hair with the weird antennae things! They are too awesome! Not to mention how sadistic she is." Everyone stood in stunned silence, the fact that they were in presence of royalty was totally forgotten at this point. "Wait a second... Larxene. How would you spell that?" Kevin asked. Axel seemed confused by the question and said, "L-A-R-X-E-N-E. Got it memorised?" Jasmine glared at him while Kevin thought about the name. His eyes widened and he flailed his arms madly until he was pointing at Jasmine. "I DO NOT APPROVE! SHE IS NOT ALLOWED TO BE MY SISTER IN LAW!"

"Huh, sister in law? What are you talking about...?" She asked. "Wait a second, your only relative is your sister Arlene. She is dead and according to you was the anti-bitch. What makes you so sure she is Larxene?" Kevin dug into his pocket and pulled out a crumpled photo and gave it to Axel. "Is that her?" Xigbar peered over the pyro's shoulder while Roxas tried to see the photo. Axel let out a low whistle and said, "Ho damn. That's Larxene. She even has the same picture in her room."

He handed the photo back and Kevin nodded. "I thought so. From what Sora told me, Maleficent doesn't kill people, just takes their hearts. But the bitch thing does confuse me. Arlene is a bitch? That doesn't seem likely." Tahlia pulled out two kunai from her pouch and said, "What did she do; this?" She wiggled the kunai and the three Organization members' hands immediately made protective cups around their groins. Kevin gawked and said, "Holy hell. She threatened to castrate me too, usually when she was on her period but—" "OKAY! New topic!" Ashlee said.

King Mickey and Queen Minnie smiled, waiting patiently and Kevin remembered what they were here for, as did everyone else. "Please everyone, be quiet and let me talk. I have something important to share." Everyone turned to face the two monarchs. "I know about your plan to run off to fight Venxik. It won't happen. I will not let you guys endanger your lives for something I could do instead without having to worry about dying. The worlds are more important."

Kevin gaped at the small mouse and cried, "That's not fair! We could go take the fight to Venxik and end him, ending any threat he poses to the worlds. After that, we could run around locking all of the Keyholes with Sora's help because he would be back since Kingdom Hearts would have opened up again!" Roxas frowned at Kevin and thought, _Am I chopped liver or something?_

Mickey frowned and everyone else looked unsurely to their neighbours. Xunahs and Ashlee looked at Kevin with worried expressions. "I understand how you feel Kevin, but it won't happen. If you run off to fight Venxik, I will be there to stop you first. You would endanger yourself, your friends, and any hope this universe has of being saved."

Kevin ground his teeth, the noise making Xunahs flinch and Kevin said, "Fine. I will." Mickey looked at the sad Keybearer and said, "I am sorry, Kevin. But you need to make sure everyone else is safe first. And I have an idea to make this go by smoothly."

"And what would that be?" Namine asked politely. Mickey said, "I am going to split you all up into two different groups. Xigbar, Axel, Roxas, and Jasmine will go together and Kevin, Xunahs, Ashlee, Tahlia and Tom will go in their own group." Kevin narrowed his eyes at the mouse and said, "Why would the three ex-Organization XIII members and our best fighter go together?"

"I am sorry Your Majesty, but what about me?" She asked. Mickey smiled and said, "You are staying here with me." Namine gasped and cried, "Why? Because I'm a girl?" Mickey laughed quietly and said, "No, because you are inexperienced. Let's say it was Axel that had no idea how to fight. I would have asked him to remain here so my soldiers could teach him how to fight." He smiled at her and asked, "Do you understand?" Namine's eyes lit up and she nodded. "Yes Your Majesty, I do. Thank you very much!"

"Uh, King Mickey, when we were on Traverse Town, we fought Rould, Luxord's Heartless. I was wondering if you could help me figure something out." Mickey's looked over at Kevin and said, "Was it your form changing?" Kevin gawked at the mouse and said, "How did you know?" Mickey smiled and said, "Your mind is an open book quite often. Unlike Xunahs' or Tom's, which have iron-hard defences. I learned everything about your fight and your form changing. Sora was only able to do that because he had special clothes and his friends would help him. Maybe you can do it on your because you are a Nobody. I don't know; which is why I would like your group to go to Twilight Town first and meet an old friend of mine. Take the purple train at the train station, it knows the way."

"Okay, Mickey." Kevin said, bowing.

* * *

"Where is she?" The blond asked, stomping around the garden in front of a large, brick mansion. "Hayner, why are you still looking around here? She disappeared eight months ago. Come on, Pence. Help me out here." The boy in question nodded and said, "Olette is right, Hayner. Ashlee is long gone. You heard the shouting in the mansion. And those creepy people walking to and from it..."

"Well then, we go in." Hayner said angrily. Pence looked at the boy and cried, "What? You can't be serious. Let's just replay what I said, 'those creepy people walking to and from it.' 'It' would be the mansion, by the way. It's stupid! We aren't going in there!" "Pence, they are a myth. They aren't real at all." Olette looked from one arguing boy to the other and said, "We don't know for sure. There have been those disappearances. What if there are serial killers living in there or something? What if it's the Organization or the Heartless? We would die if we went in there without Sora or the king."

Hayner ignored Olette and walked up to the front door of the mansion. He stretched his hand out to turn the knob and was pushed back by an invisible force. He skidded across the lawn and fell at Pence's feet. "What the heck?" He asked. There was a high-pitched whine as a gummi ship flew through the air; it crashed into the woods as if a drunkard was flying it. The three exchanged nervous glances and ran into the woods.

* * *

"Xunahs…" Kevin said, rubbing his bruised shoulder as he stumbled towards the hatch in the crashed gummi ship. "Yeah?" He asked sheepishly. "I am never letting you fly this thing again. We are going to auto-pilot everywhere, even if it means we lose fifteen minutes of our lives that we could spend travelling around the worlds we land on. Ashlee, Tom, Tahlia, are all of you okay?" There was a collective "Yes," and Kevin nodded. _Okay, time to go_.

He opened the hatch and saw the grassy ground some twenty feet below. "Cripes. This is going to be unpleasant." The other four walked over to see what Kevin was talking about and the ship shifted in its place. There was the unpleasant crack of snapping wood and the ship plummeted the last twenty feet.

Kevin stumbled out of the ship and threw up after it had landed. "Never again." He moaned and threw up a second time just for good measure. Xunahs stumbled out and fell over. "The world is spinning…" He said. Tahlia fell out of the ship, righted herself and coincidentally, tripped onto Xunahs. Tom and Ashlee walked out, a bit dazed, but able to stand. "I used to fly around a massive capital city, sometimes I would go really fast, and sometimes I would fly into birds. However, I never want to do that again." Kevin said weakly as he stood up.

Kevin helped Xunahs to his feet while Tom helped Tahlia. Ashlee walked back in the ship to grab things they had left behind. Kevin looked around to take in his surroundings and saw three teens running up to them. "Are you guys okay?" One of the two boys said. Xunahs' legs wobbled again and Tom held him back up. "Well, we had the most epic and painful fall of our lives. Other than that, we are pretty good. Would your name be Hayner by any chance?"Kevin replied.

Hayner and his two friends stepped back, looking at Kevin warily. "Why, who's asking?" Kevin grinned. "Yep, Hayner. Apparently, you had a bit of an attitude. My name is Kevin, the people behind me are Tom, Xunahs and Tahlia. I lived on Destiny Islands with Sora, Riku and Kairi. Sadly enough, they are no longer with us. Their hearts were taken." Olette and Pence gasped and Hayner looked at Kevin angrily. "And what are you doing? Going around telling his friends about it? Or are you some sicko that is trying to make us feel bad?"

Xunahs pulled himself away from Tom and yelled inside the ship, "Yo Ash, the natives are getting restless! We might need some help."

Ashlee sighed and walked out of the ship, lugging everyone's packs. She dropped them out of the ground and looked around. "Huh? I don't see anyone…" She looked over to where Kevin was and her eyes widened. "Hayner? Pence? Olette?" Silence fell over the group of eight and Hayner let out a choked laugh and asked, "Ashlee, is that really you?"

Ashlee grinned and wiped a tear from her eye. "Holy crap! Eight months, I can't believe it. Eight months and you haven't grown an inch!" She ran up to Hayner and ruffled his hair. "Now I have every right to continue calling you shorty. I thought you would have spurted at least. You too, Pence. And Olette, I am sure you have been taking care of these two blockheads?"

"Where have you been for the past eight months?" Olette asked. "Well, you would never believe it, but I was living in the desert with hardly any food and water. But hey…" Ashlee flicked her wrist and a ball of fire formed over her palm. "A little magic goes a long way." She threw the ball into the air, where it disappeared and said, "Hayner, Pence, Olette, I would like you to meet my friends Kevin, Tom, Tahlia and Xunahs. Kevin and Xunahs are royalty, kinda."

"How can you kind of be royalty? Either you are, or you aren't." Hayner said, looking questioningly at Kevin. Kevin scratched the bridge of his nose and said, "Well, Xunahs and I were adopted by the usurper king of the world we were on for eight months. So, we don't have royal blood, but legally we are royalty."

"I see…" Pence said. "So, you said you were Sora's friend, Kevin?" He asked. "Yeah, I was. Sora did lose his heart, because of my Heartless, I am pretty sure. So that would mean that I am a Nobody, as are Tahlia, Tom and Ashlee." The three looked at Kevin and then Ashlee, who nodded and Olette asked, "How did that happen?" Kevin bowed his head and said, "The one that would know how it started would be Andrea, but she died." Olette looked at Kevin sadly and said, "Oh. I'm so sorry." Kevin raised his head and smiled. Tom looked depressed and said, "It isn't really your fault, Olette. It doesn't matter anyways; I got back at the guy that killed her."

"Yeah, as heartless as it may be to say this, it is a thing of the past. We need to look ahead to the future. Let's look at it this way, I died and became human again. Maybe when we re-open Kingdom Hearts or can somehow bring her back from Death, Andrea will come back too." Xunahs said. Everyone nodded.

Pence looked at Kevin and Xunahs with wide eyes and said, "Sorry for the weird question, but did you guys meet any princesses?" Xunahs and Kevin looked at each other, and then back at Pence. They both coughed and blushed, Xunahs thinking about Axdrane and the girl that was the pub owner's daughter, and Kevin thought about Ashlee. "Nope, can't say that we did. That world was pretty princess-lacking, which is a travesty on all accounts." Kevin said. Before Ashlee could enter his mind, he threw up a barrier.

Three teens stepped through a hole in the brick wall that was at the edge of the woods, the girl in the group of them pointed at the group of five that was with Hayner, Pence and Olette and said, "Outsiders."

The tall, muscular male said, "They look pretty dangerous, ya'know." The other male, wearing a beanie said, "They are outsiders. They look like they could also be a threat to our community. So, it is our job as disciplinarians to deal with them like the trash they are."

Kevin raised an eyebrow and asked, "Excuse me?" The male grinned and said, "You heard me, trash. Get out of Twilight Town now, or you're in for the thrashing of your life."

"Yeah! Seifer will beat you down, ya'know!"

"Leave these guys alone, Seifer. They aren't doing anything wrong." Hayner shouted. "Whatever blondie, these guys are trash, and the fact that you are with them only proves it. They are getting thrown out."

A muscle in Kevin's cheek twitched. _Wow, this guy is a real ass..._ "Seifer, was it? How about this, if you can beat me, I would be more than happy to leave. However, if you can't win, you guys leave me alone."

Seifer cracked his knuckles, grinning widely. "Fine by me. So, who's going to help you? The skinny punk and the other tall guy?" Kevin looked at Xunahs and Tom, then back at Seifer. "Nah, I will go at it alone."

"Kevin, don't use the Keyblade." Ashlee whispered in his ear. "Don't worry, Ashlee, I plan on going without a weapon."

"Right then. Fuu, Rai, get the bats." Kevin raised an eyebrow. _Bats? As in baseball bats? Oh crap... Maybe I need a weapon after all. _Kevin shrugged and said, "Oh well no turning back no... What the hell are those things?" He was pointing at the blue bats the three were carrying. "Are those things... Foam bats?"

"Struggle bats." Fuu said. Seifer smirked at Kevin and said, "Yeah, Struggle bats. We use 'em for Struggles, do you have a problem, punk?" Kevin shook his head and replied, "No. I just love how you guys are digging your own graves."

_Wow Xunahs, I totally have this in the bag._ Kevin said mentally to Xunahs. Seifer charged up to Kevin and swung the bat and smacked him on the side of the head with it. Kevin expected that nothing would happen, that he would just be slapped across the face by a mildly annoying blue bat, but instead he was knocked onto the ground. He rolled away from Seifer before he could land another hit, got up and asked, "What the heck happened there? I was knocked over and it didn't hurt!"

"Does it matter? All that is important is that you are going to lose and you get kicked out of town."

Kevin got into a front stance and said, "Not on your weird, Struggle-batting life." He ran at Seifer and ducked under the swinging bat, ramming his head into the teen's gut. He grabbed Seifer by the shirt and spun, throwing him at Rai, who caught him effortlessly. Rai put him down and Seifer spat on the grassy forest floor. "Guys, we are going to take him from all sides. Got it?"

"Affirmative."

"Yes sir!"

And they did so. Kevin watched the three of them run at him and he mumbled, "Seifer runs the fastest, with Fuu running second fastest and Rai is running slowest. If I take out Seifer, I can run to Fuu and Rai without getting teamed up on." He ran at Seifer and sidestepped the Struggle bat that was stabbed out at him. He spun around and tripped Seifer with a sweep kick. Just before the disciplinarian could land, Kevin grabbed him by the wrists and swung him around and threw him at Fuu, who ducked under the teenage missile. Seifer rolled into Rai, who got tripped up and landed on the grass on top of Seifer. Fuu ran at Kevin and threw her struggle bat at Kevin. It smashed him hard in the nose and she punched him hard in the chest.

_Holy shit, that was epic_. Xunahs thought to himself. The others looked surprised by Fuu's attack. Kevin did a backwards roll and sprung back onto his feet. She charged at him, the completely blank expression (If Kevin had a heart, he would have been terrified). When she got close, she bent low, ready to punch him in the gut, and just as she punched, Kevin caught her fist and threw her to the ground. As he placed his foot on her stomach, pinning her, he mumbled, "That wasn't as cool as I thought it would be."

Rai rolled off Seifer and ran at Kevin. He turned to face Rai and ran at him. When he was five feet away from Rai, he jumped in the air, and landed on Rai's shoulders. He sprung off of them, making the teen fall to the ground. Kevin landed beside him and pinned the mammoth teen with his foot and said, "I win. Any questions?"

* * *

"Gabrielle, are you sure about this? I mean really, the guy is pissed off enough as it is; he got that threat that was very detailed on the kidnapping of his wife. If we decide to do this and go against orders, it could be off with our heads." Jan said, making a swift slicing motion with her finger at her throat.

"I know, Jan. After Sora beat Xemnas, he offered us a place with him, who were we to refuse after everything we had done for the ten years Xemnas reigned over us? If I had a heart, I would be torn with guilt right now, but we don't have hearts, and I am only concerned for the worlds. Like Xemnas, I have a one-track mind, but it's set on the survival of the worlds, not a perverted scheme to bring back out hearts. He thrust us into a situation where we all knew full well most of us would die, but he didn't care. Just because you don't have a heart, doesn't mean you get the right to be careless." She replied.

"And don't you think your idea is careless even in the slightest? Gabrielle, these people you are putting your faith in are young and are far too inexperienced to take on our enemies, with or without us." Dart said.

"I am well aware." She replied grimly. "However, I have an idea that will get them past the enemies and to the help we need."

"Are you sure?"

"As sure as I'll ever be, Vice."

* * *

"Venxik sir, we have the device almost complete." Dawn said, saluting. Venxik cracked his knuckles, the popping sound making Dawn flinch. "Good, has Gard gotten what I need?" He looked up at the Kingdom Hearts moon through the giant window and Dawn said, "No. Something eliminated him after we sent him back out. One of the Dusks we sent to follow him reports the assailant as an old man with a wicked smile. They described Gard's death as strange, he was grabbed by the throat, hoisted in the air and collapsed in on himself, whatever remained was sucked in through the man's palm."

Venxik raised an eyebrow at the report. "Excuse me? Do we have a good description of this old man?"

* * *

Somaxth stood up and stretched, punched the tree he was resting under and stole the heart of a passing butterfly. "So, Venxik wants me to take the heart of this world, does he? Well, that's pretty boring. Oh well, I need to find that keyhole soon, this place is way too colourful." The sky was light blue, and there were barely any clouds in the sky. Sometimes, small little colourful things in the sky would loose jets of flame, and he would sense mice scurrying through the large field he slept in.

The man previously owning this farmland didn't exist any longer, nor did his family. Somaxth made sure of that. There was supposedly this castle built in a nearby swamp that had a wizard living inside of it. If there were any historical books or spell books, Leashex wanted them.

He stepped out from under the tree and walked towards the forest on the other side of the field. When he got halfway across the field, a loud roar filled the air and the Heartless turned to face a large dragon, easily taller than he was. He stared down its open mouth and backed off, glaring hatefully into its crimson eyes.

"How the hell did I not notice you?" He asked under his breath. The crimson scaled dragon roared at him and smoke trailed from its nostrils. It opened its tooth-lined maw and let loose a jet of flames. Somaxth ducked under the flame and rolled under the dragon. He lay on his back and punched it hard in the chest so that it rose into the air. Somaxth pushed himself up and kicked it hard in the side with one fluid movement and placed his hand over its heart tenderly.

"Don't worry, this will be over quickly." Darkness exploded around his hand, which sank into the heavily breathing chest of the large dragon. Darkness swelled out from the dragon's chest and it covered the beast. The body disappeared and a pink heart appeared in its place. The darkness grew around the heart, giving it the shape of a large, black, spiny dragon with obsidian teeth. Its amber eyes glared hatefully around and its teeth were long and menacing. Somaxth let out a low whistle and said, "Wow. If I was human again, I probably would have shit more than one brick. Okay then, dragon, can you tell me where the Dragon Keeper is? I need to find the keyhole, and she may be connected to it."

"The Dragon Keeper? She has nothing to do with the location of the keyhole of this world. However, you are warm, young pup." Somaxth turned to face the source of the voice. It belonged to an old man that stood not even five feet away from him. The newly made Heartless bowed its head at the old man and Somaxth held a stone axe ready for combat. "Who are you?" He asked.

The man chuckled and opened his arms, letting a wave of darkness run over the two other Heartless. Somaxth was forced back by the wave. _No way, this old man... His darkness is almost identical to Venxik's own darkness. _"Tell me who you are, damn it!" He roared. The man chuckled again. The irritating, gravelly cackle only made Somaxth more annoyed.

"My name is of no importance to a whelp like you. Just leave this world; I have its heart in my clutches already."

Somaxth narrowed his eyes at the man and said, "This is my world, Venxik sent me here. Who are you?"

Dark energy pulsated from the man's right hand and he thrust it at Somaxth's chest. His eyes widened as the old man raised him in the air as effortlessly as if it were Somaxth's hand holding the man up by the shirt instead. The man threw Somaxth to the ground and fired a ball of darkness at Somaxth. He rolled out of the way and jumped back onto his feet. The man looked at Somaxth with an aloof gaze. "Send this message to Venxik for me: The old man is back. If he reacts in a surprised manner to this message, tell him to meet me here right away."

Somaxth clenched his teeth at the orders and noticed the symbol of the Heartless on the man's forehead and said, "Fine. If that's how you want it, I will." He turned around and walked through a portal he made. The dragon bowed again and sank into the ground, following Somaxth."

* * *

Seifer got up and cracked his knuckles. "Fine, you win." He said, continuing to crack his knuckles. "Doesn't mean I have to be happy about it. Rai, Fuu, we are out of here." Kevin got off of Rai and watched as the three teens left the woods, shoulders slumped. Kevin touched Seifer's mind and smiled contentedly knowing the disciplinarian was pissed off.

"You really showed them who's boss." Pence said. Hayner brushed his nose with his fist and said, "I could have done the same, but not too bad, newbie. I guess Ashlee taught you how to fight since you have been with her." Olette smiled at Ashlee and said, "We should probably get you and Hayner home, your mom will want to know what happened."

Kevin raised an eyebrow and said, "Wait a second, you're Hayner's sister?"

"Adopted."

"And what about Sora? How come he never told me about you, I'm sure you would have been hanging around with Hayner, Pence and Olette."

"I was sick, a bad case of the flu."

"You know what I don't get?" Olette said. "What?" Tahlia asked in reply. "What I don't get is how Seifer didn't recognize Ashlee. He liked her quite a bit if I remember correctly."

Ashlee started laughing until tears rolled down her face and she was doubled over. Everyone present looked at her oddly and she stopped her laughter. "Well, Seifer liked me, he told me so himself. However, he is a big issue for you guys, and so I told him to leave you three alone. He denied my request, so I told him to screw off. Sadly enough, he didn't like that reply and challenged me to a Struggle. I gladly accepted and that is where it gets funny. He ran at me with the bat swinging wildly. I ducked under it and jabbed him hard in the groin. He fell over backwards and I threw the bat at his gut, said, 'Once you grow a set, and you want to let bygones be bygones with these guys, let me know.' I spat on him and walked away. That was about four days before I lost my heart, I believe."

Everyone stared at her in stunned silence. Kevin grabbed her in a bear hug and said, "You are the most epic person in the universe, you know that, right?"

"No, never before, but thanks. So guys, what are we doing around here? I thought mom wanted to see me happy and healthy again!" Ashlee said, leading the group out of the woods the same way Seifer and his cronies had gone.

* * *

Jasmine stood with her back pressed against Roxas'. They were surrounded by a group of boys that seemed to be going only for Roxas, and ignoring Jasmine entirely. A few minutes earlier, she had heard the simultaneous screams of Axel and Xigbar, who had both joined the mob. One of the boys, eyes filled with some sort of perverted joy that made Jasmine's skin crawl grabbed Roxas by the pants and yanked.

Much to Jasmine's horror, Roxas didn't go into the crowd, but instead stood there in his boxers. The boy made a second attempt to grab the trouser-lacking Nobody, but Jasmine pushed his hand away with a bone-shattering kick.

She looked around madly for a route of escape and saw it in the form of a smaller part of the mob these... zombified male high school students that were still in uniform was made up of. Without giving it a second thought, Jasmine wrapped Roxas around the waist, bent so that her head was level with the torsos of the pubescent attackers and charged foot-ball style through the crowd. She broke through, skidded, made a sharp turn to the right and disappeared into a rundown building. "Roxas, you okay? Did those things get you?"

She heard a loud yell ring through the crowded streets, and saw two of the boys fight each other for Roxas' abandoned pair of pants. She raised her eyebrow and thought, _What the hell?_ Roxas tried to take a peak too, but Jasmine forced him down. "Roxas don't look. I don't know who those guys are, or what their issue is, but they seem to want you, pardon the pun, in the pants."

"Okay, gotcha." He stared at the wall and Jasmine continued to stare. Some of the boys seemed to start doing this crazed movement. _Is that some sort of victory dance or something...?_ She watched with rising interest as the teens continued their weird, bumping dance and she turned to Roxas, who was still looking intently at the wall.

She looked back out, seeing everyone out there had started doing it, including Axel and Xigbar. _Just what the hell is happening here?_ Her eyes widened as the dances became more strange and the bumping became more frantic, a drum was beating somewhere in the distance, that much Jasmine was sure of.

The dance quickly turned into something more akin to a flailing party, and Jasmine's eyes widened at how often the heads of the boys impacted each other. _Holy crap, there are going to be quite a few broken noses tonight._ Two of the boys close to the house stopped their dance abruptly and just pressed their bodies completely against each other. Once again, Jasmine tilted her head to the right. "Now what are they...? Oh. My. Fucking. GOD!"

Roxas poked his head out the window once again, trying to see what Jasmine was screaming about. His eyes and mouth widened in an expression of utmost horror. Almost as if by instinct, the multitude of half naked teens looked up to Roxas and Jasmine. They all spotted Roxas and walked into the house.

"What the hell?" Roxas said. "They are like predators or something." Jasmine grabbed his arm, opened a portal and said, "Yeah, sexual predators!" She ran through the portal, just as a half-nude Axel barged through the door, yelling "ROXAS-KUN! I'M HERE FOR YOU!"

* * *

"Oh hey, do any of you know about this group of people that came to town recently? They call themselves the HBRC." Tahlia immediately let go of Xunahs and asked, "Where did you see them last?" She was bouncing on the balls of her feet now. "I think I saw them in an apartment by the train station. But it's getting late, we should get home."

"Oh come on! I can go find them. I have been living here with Ryan and Shaun in the mansion for the past eight months after all." She huffed and continued to bounce.

Hayner spun around to face Tahlia and asked, "You lived in the mansion?" He turned to Pence and Olette, claimed victory for being right and turned to face Tahlia once again. "And the disappearances, do you know anything about them?"

"Nothing, but I wouldn't be surprised if Ryan and Shaun were behind them. As much as they rocked, they were evil and sadistic." Tahlia said, looking away.

"And why didn't you leave?" Olette, asked. "Well, I don't have a heart, which makes it easier for me to do what I want. Why I stayed is beyond me. The thing is, they never involved me in their stuff, and if they did, I would have left a lot sooner. Odds are, those people that disappeared will never come back."

Olette looked at the mansion, as did Hayner and Pence. The other five turned to look at it. "Tahlia, do you know anything about a force field Ryan would have put around the mansion?"

Tahlia shook her head. "No, Ryan was the first to leave and told us that we would never come back with the payment he was getting." The interrogation was going to continue, but the sound of two heads making contact with the mossy forest floor attracted the group's attention. Kevin and Xunahs lay asleep on the mossy floor, Kevin facedown, the muffled snores barely reaching the people's ears, and Xunahs, who was lying face up, with his mouth open wide, letting a loud, obnoxious snore escape.

Ashlee picked up Kevin, while Tom helped Tahlia get Xunahs. "I guess we should get home guys." Ashlee said, not bothering to hide her smirk. Olette nodded and said, "I'll see you guys later then." She ran off, Pence said a quick "Good bye" and ran off in the opposite direction Olette was heading.

"Well, I am going to the guys." Tahlia said. She dropped Xunahs, leaving Tom struggling to get the teen back up on his back. Tahlia ran off to the train station without looking back.

"Well Hayner, Tom that leaves just us." Ashlee said. She carried Kevin while Tom carried Xunahs, letting Hayner lead the way to the sandlot.

* * *

"Axel darling, we are lost... No one has come to help us and I'm starved!" The director said. Axel turned his gaunt head to the director and said, "You're hungry? We have been here for only a little while! Don't whine to be about hunger until you look like I do on stage!"

Axel kicked a rock with all of his strength, watching the small projectile dig itself into a rotting wooden house wall. He was about to fire another rock with his foot when a cackle filled the air and someone said, "Axel, do you want to go home? That can be arranged."

Axel's spine stiffened and he slowly turned to see the evil witch, Maleficent.

Axel stepped back. "Oh crap..." He muttered. "Oh crap, oh crap."

"Yes my Dark Hero, you are going to be sent back to your world..." She threw open her arms and darkness pooled around her feet. "AS A HEARTLESS!"

She waved her staff and shot a ball of darkness at Axel. The director dropped his megaphone and yelled, "Axel!"

* * *

Author's Note: HOLY SOMETHINGOROTHERS! Could it be that 7k words is my new average word count per chapter? D: Honestly, if it is, I will be shocked and amazed. No, I am not kidding you. I totally will be. But yes, 36 kinda left a weird taste in my mouth, like something was missing, and needed to be added, but I just didn't know what. Chapter 37 though... OH-HOH, that is going to be fun to write. Oh yes, while I was re-reading this chapter (third time), I saw Namine's question aimed at Mickey about feminism. I know that Namine isn't like that, but I just kind of thought that maybe we could have further OOC. Good lord, I need to replay KH2...

Jasmine, will I be getting that back any time soon?


	37. Monster

Chapter Thirty Seven: Monsters of the night

"Where the freck are we now?" Jasmine asked no one in particular. It looked like she and Roxas were standing alone in the ruins of a church.

"Why didn't you take us out of here instead?" Roxas asked. Jasmine ground her teeth for a minute and then said, "I can't leave. It seems I can only make portals that take us a short distance away. Maybe you will do better, Roxas." Roxas opened a portal, focusing on Twilight Town and walked through. Nothing happened for a moment, than Jasmine heard the scream of Roxas through the portal. He ran out of it just as an arm went through. The portal closed, leaving a severed arm in between the two Nobodys.

"Well, that's just _pleasant_" Jasmine said. She snapped her fingers and the arm caught on fire. Roxas looked like he was about to puke and Jasmine looked around the church. "Whereabouts in this stupid world do you think we are?" Jasmine asked Roxas.

"Don't know, all I know is that that arm once belonged to a kid that was trying to get at my boxer shorts. The portal lead right back to where we were. How do you think this is happening? Seriously, maybe if we weren't attacked and Axel and Xigbar randomly turned gay, I would have been more than happy to believe that this world was inhabited solely by homosexuals, but some of those people in the crowd seemed familiar, like they were a part of stories, movies and comics, some were even actors. It's like this is a yaoi fanfiction gone rabid."

"Heh. A yaoi fanfiction, eh? I always wanted to spork one of those." Jasmine said. "But, I think that if we want to get out of here in one piece, we should avoid the witty commentary. How sad." She sighed and looked around. The dark, ruined church lit up with candles. The place where the crushed altar lay was lit up by two massive lights. Jasmine gasped in a mix of utter horror and extreme amounts of joy. Roxas visibly twitched and began to back away slowly." A man with long, silver hair turned around slowly to face the intruders. He paused dramatically, with his cold eyes glaring at the two Nobodys. Music from an orchestra filled the church suddenly, making the two Nobodys jump.

* * *

"Oh crap, The Narrow Stairs of Death." Ashlee groaned as the group approached the stairs that lead up to the front door of Ashlee's house. "Tom, these things are too narrow to walk up with our loads. We need to release them."

"Huh? Why do we need to do that?" He asked.

"I'll tell you why." Hayner said, "It's because each step leading up to that door is too small for anyone to step on if they have someone on their back. So, if you were to go up them with Xunahs riding your shoulders, you would lose your balance and tumble backwards, crushing him."

"I see… So you just want me to put him down. Than what, do we leave them out here to freeze during the night?" Ashlee started to laugh and asked, "Night? There is no night, only the eternal twilight that shrouds this world, leaving it in a state of perpetual chaos!" She began to cackle and Hayner sighed. "Eight months and nothing has changed."

Tom and Ashlee dropped their passengers and proceeded to wake them up. Ashlee roughly shook Kevin's shoulders, screaming about the end of the world, and Tom hosed Xunahs down with a nearby garden hose.

Kevin and Xunahs yelled at the two Nobodys, and soon an argument broke out. Just as Xunahs was about to punch Tom in the face, a frustrated looking woman that was wearing a white nightgown walked down the stairs. She brushed her blonde hair out from her eyes and glared at the group with hazel eyes. Hayner spun around to see the woman and said, "Oh, hi Mom."

She looked at Hayner, smiled and walked at a brisk pace behind Tom, making sure her bare feet made a loud slapping noise as she did so. She grabbed him by the ear and twisted. He yelped in pain, making the impending chaos come to a sudden halt. Everyone turned to the angry woman that was holding Tom hostage and Ashlee coughed.

"Why hello Mother, long time no see. Heheh…" Her mom whirled to face her daughter and glared. She pointed at the stairs and marched up them, the teens assembled stood outside for a few moments, completely quiet.

"Well," Tom said, "She sure seemed happy to see you, Ashlee." "Yeah, she is especially happy to see the three teenage boys you brought home, I'm sure." Kevin said as he used magic to remove the water from Xunahs' clothing and hair. They walked up the stairs and into the house.

_This can't end well._

* * *

"Guys, I'm here!" Tahlia cried as she barged in through the door to one of the townhouses close to the train station. A large amount of screaming met her as a group of girls sat watching a horror movie. One of the girls had a popcorn bowl thrown on her head in the panic. Grinning sheepishly, Tahlia backed out of the house, saying "Heheh, sorry… Wrong address. By the way, they all die in the end." She ducked under the popcorn bowl and went for the next house.

Luckily for her, this was the right one.

"Uh… Where's everyone else?" Leon asked.

Tahlia smiled widely and said, "We were split up by King Mickey. I am staying with Kevin, Ashlee, Tom and Xunahs. Xunahs is the un-Heartlessified Heartless of that assassin, Shaun."

Leon nodded slowly. "Interesting…"

"Anyways, where do I sleep, Squall? I am exhausted." Leon's eye twitched and he took a calming breath. "We had nothing prepared for you, but you can get the attic."

"Fine…" She walked up the stairs, turned around and shouted, "Where's the attic?"

Leon smacked his forehead. _Eight months without her. It was peaceful, quiet. And now_... He sighed and shouted, "It is in the hall way at the end in the ceiling where most of the attic doors in the universe are located!"

"Why thank you, Squall!" Tahlia shouted. _Jerk._

* * *

"First question," Ashlee said, translating her mother's moving lips, "who are these boys?"

"My name is Kevin."

"I'm Tom."

"And I am Xunahs."

Ashlee snickered, waiting for them to jump up into some sort of corny group victory pose and cry the name of some club they had made up on the spot. Luckily, they didn't.

"I've been with Ashlee for the past eight months, Kevin and Xunahs are royalty. We have been out of world for those past eight months." Tom said as a quick and slightly more in depth introduction.

Ashlee's mom glared at the boy. It was easy to tell that she did not believe the story.

"Mom, you adopted me from an orphanage when I was six. The staff there all said I just appeared one day with a small note. Of course, the note burned up when Hayner got to play with fire." She glared at him. "And you know how I would make frequent visits to the mansion to practice magic. Well, on that last day you saw me, I was attacked while I was practicing magic and lost my heart. So now, I'm a Nobody and I am trying to help these knuckle heads out with their journey to take back their worlds and hearts from the ones that stole them. On top of that, I met my biological grandparents during my adventures."

Ashlee's mom gasped silently, and started moving her lips again, Ashlee translated once again. "Your grandparents? But we were told your family was all gone. Ashlee, are you sure it was them?"

Ashlee nodded. "Yes Mom, I am. They remembers me, and grandma has memories of me when I was a younger girl back home."

Her mom asked how Ashlee would know her grandmother's own memories, and Ashlee, Kevin and Tom all took turns telling Hayner and his mom the story of their lives during Ashlee's eight month disappearance.

"_You_ held up a waterfall?" Hayner asked. "Yeah right. There's a better chance of me getting 10 000 000 munny in cash right now."

Kevin grinned at him. "I did hold up a waterfall, but that's only because the evil king that acted like a father for Xunahs and I controlled me, hoping I could be used to destroy the Varden. I was able to shake myself loose and escape. While he was controlling me, I had access to some pretty awesome power. Such as being able to fly across a desert that would take eight months to travel across in the span of a few hours. The waterfall thing was still very physically draining on my part, however."

"Prove it." Hayner said. "Do some magic for us right here and now. All I have heard from you guys is a bunch of fancy words thrown into a story, for all I know Ashlee could be in on this and it's some sort of long, drawn out prank. So come on, show us what you got."

"Tomorrow." Kevin replied, smirking at Hayner. "When everyone else is out and about, I will show you, just so that people don't think you're crazy."

"Of course, chicken. So, Mom any ideas as to what we do with them?"

_By the way, Kevin. My mom's name is Cassidy_. Ashlee said mentally. _Thanks._ Kevin replied.

Cassidy thought about it and after the pause, moved her lips. Hayner's jaw dropped and he said, "What? No way! No can do, Mom. My room is way too small." Cassidy glowered at him, started speaking silently again and gestured at the three males, jerking her thumb at Kevin more viciously than Xunahs or Tom. "Mom, I don't think they will…" Cassidy continued to glare and Hayner gave in. "Fine. Make me have to sleep in the cramped bedroom."

* * *

"Venxik sir, the machine is prepped and ready, all we need is the…" Venxik nodded at Dawn. "Thank you. I have a group of Invisibles heading to our prize already. I am thankful for your services Dawn. And as a gift, I will return the remainder of your memories and you can re-continue your assault, starting with Twilight Town."

Dawn smiled and she turned to leave. Venxik halted her and said, "One final thing." He smashed his palm into her gut and darkness flowed into her. "You need a more suitable form to blend in the crowd."

He removed his hand and Dawn screamed in pain as the darkness exploded from her and shot back at her. It twined around her body and her appearance became more human. She grew long, raven hair and her eyes became noticeably human, taking on a milky white colour. Her face softened into that of a woman in her early thirties and before the lower parts of her anatomy (Below the shoulders) became distinguishable, a long, silver and gold robe blossomed around her.

Dawn gasped and Venxik grinned. "Your old body, from before your heart was stolen. I used darkness and samples of your memory to make it for you, when it was prepared, I gave it back. So, do you know what exactly it is that I want you to do, Dawn?"

Dawn shook her head, her black hair whipping along with the motion. "No, Venxik I don't."

Venxik grinned and said in a bored voice, "Do what you did before, Dawn."

She smiled, showing her gleaming white teeth and said, "Understood." Her voice was a lot smoother now compared to the sharp, ragged voice she had as the Dragoon leader.

Dawn turned around and spread her arms out. Dark purple and red runes danced along her arms. A pike appeared in thin air, with the same runes that were floating around her arms a second ago being etched into the weapon. She repeated the same thing, but with a different set of runes dancing before her. She put her hands in front of her and moved them in a circular motion, the runes flowing from her arms and into the pattern she was weaving. When it was finished, she stepped forward into the net of runes and disappeared.

The spells collapsed and Venxik let out a low whistle. _Now that is a way to exit._

A portal opened besides Venxik and Leashex fell through it, landing hard on her stomach and panting heavily. Venxik quickly bent down to help her up. "Leashex, what happened?" He asked, sounding worried.

"The Invisibles that I went with were destroyed." She wheezed. "Impossible." Venxik spat. "That was a forty-strong group of Invisibles. No one can stand up to that."

"Venxik… Whatever it is that's guarding the treasure isn't normal. First, a loud roared filled my ears; it felt like the entire world was shaking violently. There was a flash of darkness and a tall, muscular man stood in the middle of the Invisibles that remained motionless. He smiled at me, turned around and walked away as the Invisibles, _all forty_ of them suddenly burst into the particles that make them up. The roar was made again and the man turned towards me, smirking, ready to charge. I ran."

Venxik scowled and tensed. "Leashex, I want you to avoid going there. It's unlikely, but if it is that person, even I wouldn't want to go there unprepared. And screw _avoiding_ it, just don't go remotely close to it ever again."

He wrapped his arms around Leashex and she was shocked to feel a warm tear splatter on her shoulder blade. Venxik pulled out of the embrace and said, "You can't go. If you're gone, there's no point for this. I promised you would be my right hand after this is over, and my promise will be kept."

Leashex looked shocked. Venxik had never acted like that before. Judging by Venxik's expression, he was surprised too. However, his usual demeanour returned and he said, "This old guy wants to meet me in some grassy field, want to come? I have reason to believe he has the ability of cleansing like us. On top of that, he easily disposed of Somaxth, so he is more than worthy of a small conversation."

Leashex nodded "Yeah, let's go." Venxik opened a portal and the two walked through it with his arm draped over Leashex' shoulder.

* * *

"Hayner, sorry to bug you, but do you have anything to block out the damn sun? Perpetual twilight is very annoying, especially if you plan on going to sleep." Xunahs said. Kevin slept on the floor between Xunahs and Tom, he had kicked off his blankets and lay sprawled on the floor with his striped blue pajamas being worn over top of his boxers and a muscle shirt. Unlucky for Tom, Kevin's right arm was covering Tom's mouth, so he breathed through his nose. At least, that's what Xunahs hoped he was doing.

Tom wore a tracksuit to bed. Why he did was beyond Xunahs. Xunahs' bedtime clothes (or lack thereof) consisted of boxer shorts and the blanket he slept under. Hayner wore virtually the same thing as Kevin, just yellow and orange stripes instead.

As for Xunahs' request on an idea to block out the perpetual sunlight, Hayner didn't do so much as twitch in response to the question. Like Kevin and Tom, he was out cold. Xunahs squeezed his eyes for a moment and then sat up. He stretched across the gap in the room for his bag, pulled out a clean shirt and tied it around his head, covering his eyes and forehead, blocking out the sun entirely. He went back under the covers and fell asleep.

* * *

Ashlee looked at the room she was lying down in, remembering so many things that had happened during her ten years of life at Twilight Town. Yet, the only thing from her home that she could remember was the Heartless invasion. It was strange how after being gone for so long, she felt like she didn't belong here anymore. She frowned at the blank ceiling. "Wow, that felt emo." She mumbled. She closed her eyes and fell asleep.

* * *

Tahlia looked up at the attic ceiling, smiling up at the small group of spider webs that inhabited the rafters. Sometimes, a spider would crawl down and along the ground, where Tahlia would pick it up and stroke its small back with her forefinger. Most girls (and Kevin) would have screamed and crushed the spider with the nearest blunt object that wasn't attached to their body, but Tahlia didn't care. She liked them a lot more than a lot of different animals in the world.

The spider crawled off her hand and plopped on the ground underneath the cot Tahlia was sleeping in. She looked around at the grotesquely disfigured shapes belonging to some of Merlin's furniture. Tomorrow, he would be clearing out anything that was living in the house besides the humans so that his magic could be practiced in a safer environment. Tahlia shuddered, remembering what had happened when an innocent squirrel had gotten in the way of one of Merlin's spells. The poor thing began to release some weird smell that attracted male snakes of any kind to it.

Ever since the day she saw the writhing mass of snakes on top of that poor squirrel, Tahlia swore that she hated snakes. It was funny, a few months later to see strange, squirrel-snake hybrids run around Radiant Garden for the next few years. Tahlia looked around again and decided it was time to sleep.

(A/N: I apologize for that)

* * *

Jasmine and Roxas didn't have it so easily. Jasmine's happy smile vanished when she realized it wasn't Sephiroth. When Jasmine was younger, she read about the things Sephiroth did to this one world in particular, realizing he wasn't all too good as a villain. However, she couldn't get over how awesome he looked. According to her, if there was any way she would be straight, it would be for the One Winged Angel himself.

Roxas gained confidence when Jasmine pointed out the fact that this Sephiroth was an imposter.

"So, what _is_ he than?" He asked. A light static buzz filled the room, and a large screen behind the fake Sephiroth flickered to life. There on the screen was the obvious silhouette of a girl with long hair. A giggle rang throughout the room and a voice that sounded like the sea breeze filled the church. "Don't you know, my wonderful little Roxas? I am a collector of men. I make copies of the men I can't find to suffice for what I lack. However, you must understand that these collectables are flawed and I will only settle for their actual selves." She snapped her fingers and eleven men dressed in black Organization cloaks stood in front of the fake Sephiroth.

"Roxas, unnamed girl, I'd like the two of you to meet your demise at the hands at Organization XIII. Or at least, the less awesome, and flawed versions of your superiors. I bid you all a fond farewell. Sephiroth, you are dismissed for now." The girl said in a droll tone. The screen turned off and exploded in a shower of pink glitter.

Roxas summoned Oathkeeper and Oblivion while Jasmine let flames dance around her. "You silly piddles think you can take us on?" The person standing in for Demyx asked, giggling shrilly. Jasmine ground her teeth.

"Let's just kill them already. Got it memorized?" The Axel copy said.

"Drown them out like my tainted, black SOOUUULLL!" Zexion copy wailed.

Jasmine had it. The only three things she hated more than a homophobe were an overly perky effeminate boy, emos, and Axel constantly saying, "Got it memorized?"

She cracked her knuckles and grinned ferally at the three Nobodys. She lunged at Demyx and punched him hard in the chest. "You first." She began cackling as she twisted his neck. She lunged at Axel and pinned him to the ground, stomped on his chest, caving in his lungs and Zexion's death was too brutal to be put into words.

Roxas watched with a slack-jawed expression as Jasmine killed each Organization member copy, each death becoming progressively bloodier and more physics-defying.

Jasmine grinned at her handiwork and watches as all of the copies faded away. Her smirk changed to a confused frown as the darkness that had previously made the copies swirled above her. The darkness rushed inwards and a disgusting, hideous _thing_ fell from the cloud and landed gracefully on its feet.

"I am Xexixavelezesaiaxdemlumar! I am UNSTOPPABLE!"

Jasmine narrowed her eyes and glared. "Well, isn't that just peachy?"

Roxas looked like he was about to hurl. "That… Isn't natural at all!"

The disgusting, disfigured behemoth (which shall not be described for the sake of yours/and the author's own sanity) lurched forward and grabbed Jasmine. Its disfigured hand squeezed Jasmine tightly and she screamed out in pain. Roxas snapped out of seeing the disgusting humanized lump of nothing that had previously been his comrades in Organization XIII's copies and charged. He sliced the hand that was crushing Jasmine in half and proceeded to wail on the rest of the monster with the two Keyblades blazing with Roxas' own energy. Roxas flipped backwards and hurled both Keyblades at the thing's face. He landed on the ground, rolled backwards to get further away and bounced back onto his feet. He held out both of his hands and the Keyblades returned to him.

"Pretty fly for a white guy." Jasmine said, letting out a low whistle, standing beside Roxas. He grinned, watching the creature closely to make sure it didn't do anything else. "Was that a joke?" He asked without averting his gaze.

"Possibly." She said smugly.

"A joke it was then."

Suddenly, the ground quaked and the beast let out a deafening roar. It stood up on its hind legs and began to look more human. At least the upper part of its body did. The lower half became the emerald green body of a snake. The human half's shape changed and Roxas realized it looked just like Riku.

Jasmine stumbled back and looked completely and utterly terrified.

"A naga…" She whispered, shaking violently.

(A/N: Oh yes, I went there.)

* * *

"M'lady." Axel, the real VIII of Organization XIII said, bowing before the girl behind the strange happenings of the world. "Why did you not send me to help the replicas? It would have meant our sure fired victory." The girl smiled patronizingly at Axel and said, "My dear Axel, you have done all that was needed for now. By masking your curse so well and pretending to like… women, you have made it easy for my prey to join us. However, that girl does pose a threat to our plans, because yaoification doesn't work on girls like it does on your hormonally charged hotties."

Axel bowed his head. "I am sorry, m'lady. If I had any idea my blunder would have lead to such a thing, I would have killed her myself before arriving here." The girl shook her head and said, "No, Axel my pet, it's okay. Perhaps I can still sway her to join me and lure the unsuspecting males of the universe to our world of bliss."

"What? You intend to make her a general? But I thought I was your one and only general!" Axel whined. "You are not going to be my general, Axel." Before she could explain any further, Axel glared at her, said "I understand." And left.

* * *

The Nobody Leaders sitting together in the meeting room located under the streets of the dark city on The World That Never Was shivered simultaneously.

"What was that?" Gabrielle asked. "I felt a shiver run up and down my spine.

"I don't know. This isn't good, something bad is going to happen, I can just tell." Vice said.

"Well, what should we do?" Jan asked.

Dart nodded. "Good question, Jan. Anil, did you feel that?" The Assassin Leader frowned to the best of her abilities. "Yes. Gabrielle, I know you felt that too. Everyone here did, didn't they?"

"If you are talking about that spine tingling, yes. But what does that mean?" Kray asked.

"Don't you remember that feeling?" Gabrielle asked, if she had a heart, it would be beating rapidly.

"I do, but how is that possible? How is it possible that she could have come back? Wait, Anil. Didn't you say something about Gard's memories returning to him?" Dart asked, turning to Anil.

She nodded and looked away. "There was also something unsettling about Axel too. Do you think I should go find him?"

Gabrielle looked sternly at the Leaders present. "Yes, you should. As for Kray and Jan, go protect the kids. If Dawn has regained her powers, she might be going after them or Axel, Xigbar, Roxas and Jasmine, or Kevin, Ashlee, Tom, Xunahs and Tahlia. Either way, they will not be able to handle Dawn without our help."

"What makes you so sure that Dawn could be targeting them?" Vice asked. Gabrielle looked at him sternly and said, "It only makes sense. She could very well be working under Venxik, that seems to be the only possible way she could have gotten her powers and memories, and how she and Gard started acting as they did those long fifteen years ago."

"How could Venxik do all that?" He asked, leaning in. Gabrielle ducked her head and said, "I don't know, but if he's doing it because he is who we think he is, we are screwed to put it lightly."

"And what about you, Vice and I. What do we do?" Dart asked. "We will go with them. Vice will go with Jan and Anil to Axel's group, and I will go with Dart and Kray to Kevin's group. Once we can confirm Dawn has been destroyed, we will return here and continue our planning."

Everyone gave their affirmatives and left.

* * *

"ROXAS! RUN THE HELL OUT OF HERE!" Jasmine yelled. Roxas nodded and ran.

The Riku-naga frowned sadly at Jasmine and asked, "Why did you take away my prey? It has been so long since I had the sensation of the human body sliding down the length of my powerful body." Jasmine's face screwed up with concentration as she held down the bile that was threatening to erupt from her throat. Her face became flushed as the oxygen supply was cut off and she bent over, releasing the contents of her stomach on the church floor.

She stood back up, swaggering slightly and moaned, "You are one sick son of a bitch."

The naga's lips curled into a thin-lipped smile, showing its white fangs. "Sick? I am an immortal, a work of God's own majestic hands."

Jasmine shook her head slowly, not wanting to get dizzy again and toss whatever was left in her stomach. "No." She panted. "You are some sick creation from the mind of a mid-pubescent girl that is designed for the sole purpose of vore. It was the naga from which your design was derived that was a holy figure. You're nothing more but an inbred, sin against nature freak."

The naga lowered its body so that its chest was lying on the ground. "You are a fowl-mouthed human." It hissed. "I will devour you and make you pay the ultimate consequence for your ignorance." Jasmine paled and it stared at her, like it was pondering something. "However. You are a female, so I won't play with you like I did that island boy." Jasmine like out a woosh of relief. "You are disgusting and evil, but beautiful at the same time." She got into a front stance, ready to spring out of the way of the naga. "But that doesn't mean you will get any sympathy."

"You poor, ignorant humans and your false hopes." It chuckled. It lunged at Jasmine, slithering along the ground almost too fast for Jasmine to react to. She jumped out of the way and let loose a wave of fire at the back of the serpent. It howled in pain, arching its back. It whipped around to face her and sprung at her with jaws stretched wide enough that it could have swallowed Jasmine whole. She fell under it just in time and kicked it in the chin as hard as she could with a blazing foot. She landed on the ground and ran at it, the carpet floor catching fire under her. She leapt up into the air and came flying down at the dazed naga. She let fire dance around her fist and pulled her arm back. When she got close enough, she closed her eyes and screamed (get ready for it) "FALCON PUNCH!"

Her fist crashed into the floor. Somehow the naga was able to squirm away at the last second. She straightened up, gazing at the hole in the floor just a foot to the right of where her fist impacted. It had somehow gotten underground before she got to it!

She felt the ground under her tremble, and felt the small tremors move away from her, towards the back of the church. The next thing she heard was Roxas' surprised cry. She swore and began to run towards him, but there was a flash of light and an impossibly long sword imbedded itself in the ground before her. She gasped as the owner of the sword descended from the ceiling, one black, feathered wing rustling silently in the breeze and silver hair fluttering gracefully behind the One Winged Angel's head.

An orchestra came out of nowhere and suddenly shouted "SEPHIROTH!" in unison.

Jasmine clenched and unclenched her hands and gritted her teeth. "Well, this is going to be fun."

* * *

"OH GOD! I DO NOT WANT THIS!" Roxas screamed as the naga wrapped its tongue around his arm and stroked it lovingly. Luckily for Roxas, his other arm was free. He smashed the naga on the head with Oblivion and smashed its jaw with Oathkeeper when his other arm was released.

Roxas glared at the naga and growled, "I do not approve of vore." He charged at the hybrid serpent and sliced its chest. The naga howled in pain and swatted at Roxas with one of its pale fists. Roxas was flung against a church pillar and, ignoring the song in the background ran at the naga, swinging Oblivion down at its hand. It swatted Roxas away again, this time with its tail. Roxas landed on the ground and the naga sped at him, slithering along the ground with surprising speed. "GET IN MUH BELLY!" It roared.

Roxas jumped away from the naga, which suddenly turned upwards to speed at him. Roxas clenched his teeth and closed his fists around the hilts of the two Keyblades tightly enough that his knuckles turned white. As the naga got closer, Roxas began to fall downwards; not trying to move away from the monster's widely opened mouth. Roxas plunged inside, just as Vice yelled out his name.

Inside the naga, Roxas held his breath and realized how stupid his idea was. There was no room for him to cut the naga. He began to try to climb back up, but heard its lisping voice fill the hole he was in. "I am glad to know my prey came so easily, but you aren't set up the way I desired, sorry."

It lowered itself to the ground and spat out Roxas. The Nobody let out a disgusted wail as his slick body slid along the length of the church floor and knocked over Vice. The Samurai Leader helped Roxas up and said, "Glad to see you in one piece. I have seen these bastards in action. They do very disgusting things to humans, especially men."

"I don't doubt it." Roxas said, shaking himself in the hopes that he would get dry. The naga picked at its teeth and spat out a black boot. Roxas looked from the boot and down at his feet. He noticed his left foot was bare and kicked off the right boot.

"Wait a second, I am a Nobody. Not a human." Roxas said, confused. Vice nodded and looked up at him, the half of his face that remained smiling Roxas. "Yeah, and because you have the shape of a mid-pubescent boy, the naga will want to eat you more than he would want to eat a lesser Nobody such as myself. Sorry boss, but you seem to have lucked out." He raised Caineghis to the removed, scarred side of his face and lit the sword on fire, making the flesh itself burn. Roxas went nauseous at the scent and asked, "Do you always have to do that?" Vice nodded. "Of course I do, it is a reminder of my indomitable spirit."

"Yeah, whatever." Roxas said. He crouched low and asked, "Are you ready for the naga, Vice?" The Nobody chuckled and said, "There is no way that bastard will get the best of me."

Jasmine and Copyroth (Sephiroth's copy) watched each other warily, getting ready to counter the first move the other made.

Two Nobodies appeared beside Jasmine, one was a Dancer Nobody, and the other was an Assassin. However, their features were different. They looked more human and had different looking outfits than the other Nobodys of the same species. The Dancer wore a pink and gold kimono, while the Assassin simply wore a cape over the Assassin Nobody's usual armor.

"Don't worry!" The Dancer said, "I am Jan, the Dancer Leader, and my sis Anil will help you out with this loser! By the way, you seem very powerful." Anil looked over at Jan and in a bored tone, said, "What? I don't feel anything special coming off of her. Maybe she's the new Dancer leader from the human-shaped Nobodys, like Demyx was previously."

"Really? That might be it! She does fight like one of us, even before when she had those disks." She said. Jasmine looked from one Nobody to the other and looked genuinely confused. "Anil? Why are you here, and who's that Jan girl that's standing next to me?" Anil looked at Copyroth, who was looking very ticked off at being ignored and said, "No time for that, we need to help you out here. You guys, all of you are in danger. Even the others in Twilight Town."

"Huh? How do you k-" "Not now." Jasmine glared at Anil and back at Copyroth. Fire erupted around her hands and feet and she said, "Let's dance."

"JASMINE!" The orchestra shouted. Everyone in the orchestra looked at each other uncertainly and corrected themselves quickly: "SEPHIROTH!"

* * *

Kevin sat up and looked around the room. According to the dull red glow of the alarm clock, it was now nine AM, but the sky said it was either dawn or dusk. Kevin couldn't tell. He stood up and carefully stepped over the other sleeping teens so that he didn't crush them. He closed the left the room and closed the door behind him; entering the bathroom that Ashlee had shown him last night.

He pulled out his freshly washed clothes from the pile Cassidy had left for the boys in the washroom, stating that it would be less of a hassle to just walk into the room and give it to them. Kevin sluggishly put on his clothes and walked back into the hallway. He was about to go wake up the other guys, but a scream from outside had done that for him.

He ran out the front door to see a man holding Olette's arm, with Pence being flung away and on his back in the garden outside the house. "Let go of me you pervert!" She yelled. She punched him in the gut as hard as she could, and all he did was give a shrill giggle.

Kevin ran down the stairs and smashed the man hard in the chest with Vortex. The man tumbled backwards and stood back up, still laughing. Kevin's eyes widened as he looked in the man's own eyes. They seemed sorrowful, almost as if they were pleading for help.

"Get into the house!" Kevin yelled at Olette and charged at the man. Olette nodded and ran in to get help. Kevin's hand became charged with electricity and he thrust it at the man's chest. The man seemed unphazed and grabbed Kevin, easily lifting him above the ground. "So." He spat. "You are the one mistress Dawn told us to look for. Well, one them anyways. Tell me where the others are and perhaps I will spare your life." Kevin placed his right hand on the man's face and felt the darkness swirling inside the man's body. It was small, but was warping the man's mind and heart. He was like some sort of Beta Heartless.

Kevin focused on that darkness and began to will it into himself. He felt something internally combat that darkness and a ball of that same darkness appeared above his left hand. He threw the ball at the man's arm that had Kevin in held in the air and landed on the ground as the man let go, cursing profusely. Kevin ran at the man and rammed his shoulder hard into his gut, and lifted up in one swift motion. The man was lifted off the ground and threw up. Specks of vomit splattered the back of Kevin's neck, and he too looked sick.

Kevin got over it and stepped back, careful to avoid the puke puddle. "Who are you and who is this Dawn person?" He asked.

The man chuckled, but his eyes still held that scared, sorrowful gaze. "Wouldn't you like to know?" He ran at Kevin, getting ready to punch him with a large fist. Kevin ducked under it and rolled away. He got behind the man and pinned him to the ground. "Tell me _now_." He hissed in the man's ear.

"Why do you care so much?" The man asked. "Because." Kevin said in an even voice. "You tried to hurt an innocent person; I don't like cowards that pick on women. Now tell me where this Dawn person is and what her plans are."

"That bastard there is a man infected by Dawn's curse." Someone said from behind Kevin/ "He is more powerful than most men and would probably be able to remove your limbs one by one with ease if he felt like it." A Nobody with a large gun walked, standing sideways in the air up beside Kevin and aimed his gun at the man's head. "And this is the only way to free them." He pulled the trigger.

* * *

Axel grabbed the director as he fell backwards. The director looked up at him with happiness in his eyes. "Axel darling, I'm sorry. We can't have the Dark Hero die. You have fans all across the netherworlds that need you. Do everything you can to survive." Those were his last words before the darkness claimed him. Axel kneeled, dumbfounded. Tears streamed down his cheeks, but was quickly snapped out of his trance by Maleficent's cackling.

"A demon, feeling sad about death, how unbelievable!" She yelled, stretching her arms out. Axel stood up and glared at her hatefully. He looked over at the zombie cameraman, who nodded and pressed the record button. Axel, with tears still in his eyes said in a dark voice, "You bitch."

He ran at her, getting ready to throw a punch. "YOU BITCH!"

* * *

Author's Note: crying!Venxik. Now why the heck would he do that? Anyways, poop goes down this chapter. We have Jasmine, Anil and Jan squaring off with Copyroth "SEPHIROTH" and Roxas and Vice facing the –shivers- naga. Who exactly is that mysterious girl behind the screen and pulling the strings on the weird world Jasmine and Roxas landed on, and why is Axel suddenly… For lack of a better word, an uke? Also, Dawn appears to have made her target. Who is the mystery man that attacked Leashex? Why is that man being mean to Olette?!

All these answers and more coming up in chapter 38 (every answer except for the one dealing with the Leashex attacker)


	38. Mistress Dawn

Chapter Thirty Eight: Mistress Dawn

* * *

"MORE GIRLS!" The girl screeched. She smashed her overly sized sceptre on the floor, shattering the unfortunate brick that had been struck. She panted heavily and swung her sceptre around wildly. "I WILL NOT ACCEPT MORE OF THIS FIFLTH IN MY KINGDOM!" She shrieked.

After her little tantrum, she regained her composure. "Oh well." She gasped between breaths. "That Sephiroth is the real deal with the modification of being loyal to me. There is no way those three can possibly hope to take on Sephiroth. I, Marie Suzette will be goddess of the universe! AHAHAHA!"

Jasmine winced and said, "I think the next most annoying thing just happened. An overlord preaching about her ultimate victory over the icky girls that plague the world."

She ran at Sephiroth and threw a punch. She fell through air, however as the fake teleported away. Jasmine landed on her feet and spun around, kicking the One Winged Angel in the side. Jan and Anil ran up and both punched him square in the chest. They planted their feet on him and jumped off, pushing him into the ground. Jasmine stood over him glaring. "How dare you impersonate Sephiroth, you disgusting piece of shit!" She spat in his face.

Sephiroth, to say the least was not amused.

He warped again and Jasmine fell on her chest. She rolled out of the way of Masamune, which was an only inch away from entering her spine. She jumped up and backed off. Sephiroth sheathed Masamune and stepped back as well. The room seemed to darken as his hand went back to the hilt of his sword. He gripped it and said in a loud voice, "Show me your strength."

In the blink of an eye, Jasmine saw several sparks of metal grinding against metal just mere inches away from her, as well as the sound as several sword strikes. Sephiroth looked at the person in front of Jasmine with disdain and fell forwards as Jan kicked him hard in the back of the head. Anil turned to face Jasmine and asked, "You okay?" Jasmine nodded, dumbfounded. Anil stepped forward to Sephiroth and stabbed one of her spiked arms into the One Winged Angel's head.

Darkness exploded and Sephiroth's famous black wing wrapped around him. The weird cocoon lifted into the air and Jasmine could hear Sephiroth faintly say, "I will never be silenced." The cocoon was enveloped in light and vanished.

* * *

Roxas and Vice ran at the naga. Roxas leaped into the air while Vice impaled the naga through the gut with Caineghis set on fire. Roxas flew downwards at the naga's wide open mouth and threw both Keyblades down its throat. The naga screamed in agony and Roxas plunged in after the Keyblades. He dismissed the two Keyblades and summoned Fairy's Harp, the shortest Keyblade he and Sora shared and stabbed it through the fleshy wall that was trying to crush the life out of him.

The naga screamed in agony as Roxas made the opening for his escape and stepped out, covered in saliva and blood. Vice jumped up so that he was even with the naga's head and removed it with one swift swing of Caineghis. The headless body slumped on the ground and began to vibrate. Several tentacles shot out from the body. Jasmine who was now beside Roxas screamed "OH HELL NO!" and incinerated the body, making sure it couldn't warp into anything else that was vile and disgusting.

"Now then." Jasmine said, "It's time to take on this bitch and get off of this world."

"Can't we just leave?" Jan asked Jasmine. Jasmine grinned widely at the Nobody Leader and said, "Nope. We are as good as stuck here until we beat that girl and whatever device she's using to keep us here."

"That just plain _sucks!_" Roxas groaned. Jasmine nodded. "Yep, it does. Now, let us be gone!"

The pink glitter that littered the floor swirled around and into the air to form the holographic image of a girl with vibrant golden hair, beautiful ocean blue eyes and a flawless face. She began giggling, her voice making Roxas and Vice almost woozy, and the girls sick to their stomach.

"I see you beat my puppets." The girl tittered. "Fine, step through the portal and you can take me on! Goddess Marie Suzette! I will enslave you and make Sora and Roxas have mad, mad sex!" Everyone present tossed their cookies.

Jasmine glared hatefully at the projected bobbling head and asked, "What's keeping you from sending us to a pit of yaoi-crazed piranhas or something?"

"Silly girl." Marie Suzette giggled, "There is no way I would have those gross fish living in my domain. They are nowhere near graceful enough for my majestic world of men that you and your Nobodys are defiling!"

Jasmine gritted her teeth. _Number five: girls that hate girls for no reason other than getting in the way of yaoi couples that should never logically happen._

She ran for the portal that was set up for them, and Jan followed quickly behind. Before the other three could run after them, the portal closed cutting of Jasmine and Jan.

They entered a massive throne room that was decorated with everything that was pink and fluffy. Jasmine's stomach lurched. _Number six: pink._

A girl stepped out from behind the throne, a large sceptre in hand that had a pink star keychain hanging from the bottom of it. She was wearing the same outfit as Sora had during his adventures in taking down Organization XIII (Jasmine, of course couldn't make the connection due to never seeing Sora).

"So, Jasmine. I have a preposition for you." The girl said, walking gracefully down the stairs.

"What do you need me for?" Jasmine asked through gritted teeth. "Why for you to work alongside me of course! To scope out the cutest boys in the universe and bring them here to have mad, mad sex with each other!"

Jasmine gagged. "Sorry girl, I be a lesbian. Rawr."

"EW! YOU LITTLE FAGGOT! I, MARIE SUZETTE WILL NOT-" Jasmine snorted and Marie Suzette glared at her scornfully. "WHAT DO YOU FIND SO ENTERTAINING, BITCH?!" Jasmine looked at the girl with a raised eyebrow and said, "Oh nothing much. I just find it interesting, your name, that is. I like how it sounds so similar to Mary Sue."

Jan began to laugh hysterically, causing both Nobody and overlord-to-be to look at her questioningly. "Mary Sue? Oh God... Finally, a Nobody with a good sense of humour!" She wiped a tear from her eye and crouched down. "So boss lady, shall we take down Ms. Sue?" Jasmine grinned. "Let's."

* * *

Kevin grabbed the Nobody by the throat and yelled, "Why did you do that?!" The Nobody warped away and floated in mid air just out of Kevin's reach. "I did it to keep that man from being Dawn's eternal slave." He opened a portal below the body and it fell through, leaving no traces of the murder behind.

Olette, Hayner, Xunahs, Tom and Ashlee ran out of the house, searching for the assailant. "Where did he go?" Hayner asked, not noticing the Nobody floating next to Kevin.

Olette saw the Nobody and said, "Uh guys... Do you know him?"

"Oh, you don't have to worry about my brother, he's a real gentleman." The group, minus the Nobody looked for the source of the voice. Another Nobody dropped from the roof and stood next to the one that was beside Kevin. It bowed and said, "Hello, my name is Kray. I lead the Gambler Nobodys, that is my brother Dart, leader of the Sniper Nobodys. Gabrielle sent us here to protect you guys from this witch named Dawn. She is the reason that man attacked you, Olette."

Olette looked confused and asked, "How do you know my name?" Kray chuckled slightly and replied, "Well, we have been watching Kevin's group quite closely. That is why Vice and Anil came to your rescue when you were attacked at Radiant Garden. I'm surprised Vice gave you that pendant. He knew full well Roxas was still around. Oh well. We were in an alternate dimension for some time before winding up here, perhaps you reminded him of the other Kevin from there. Your personalities were pretty similar, now that I think about it."

"An alternate dimension? Come on... There aren't alternate dimensions." Kevin said.

Kray looked down at him and said, "Oh really? I bet that eight months ago, you would have said that there was no such things as Heartless or Nobodys and that Sora, Riku and Kairi were putting on a very good act. It is very confusing if you give it thought. It does exist and this dimension that we were born into as Nobodys was constantly at war. The Organization XIII from that dimension was a lot more focused on destroying the human worlds. Not just taking the hearts, but wiping them out. The weapon they used for this was the ultimate in evil, and we believe Venxik may be trying to locate and harness the power of this weapon. He used Dawn and Gard to prepare it and is now throwing Dawn out to side track us, I believe. However, Mickey got an 'old friend' to protect the weapon. If anyone can do it, he can. Acting on our own, Gabrielle split the remaining Nobody leaders into two groups, three in each group. We are going to stick your guys' groups until we know for sure that Dawn is gone."

Kevin nodded unsurely. "Okay, so where is this Gabrielle person?"

* * *

Tahlia cringed at the smell of the sweaty man that was trying to hit her. Luckily, she was nimble enough to avoid his mammoth fists. Adell and Rozalin, who had joined her for a walk, had similar problems. Neither of them could really _try_ unless they wanted to kill their assailants. They each had three of these men to worry about. Adell had the least amount of problems while Rozalin struggled the most, because she couldn't use her guns without severely injuring the men.

_Father, please guide me and tell me what to do._ Rozalin thought. She jumped out of reach of one of the men's giant hands and clutched her guns. "Tch. This is a waste of my time. These men intend on killing me! Why should I show them any mercy?"

She walked slowly up to the man that gazed down at her with sorrowful eyes and without giving it a thought, she put the barrel of her handgun right at his chest. A soft purple light formed around the gun and she put her second hand around it to keep herself from being blown too far away. The gun let out a blast of energy and Rozalin was pushed back a few yards. The man was vaporized by the explosion and Rozalin quickly fire two rounds into the skulls of the other two men.

One of the men fell to the ground with a dull _thump_ and was laughing. A blue light flowed over the bullet hole in his head and the bullet shot out of it, and his wound became resealed. He stood up as if nothing happened and said, "That was pretty smart of you, demon princess. You seem to be a threat. As an Acolyte serving under Mistress Dawn, it is my duty to stop you and possibly even turn you into one of our own."

"One of you oafs?" Rozalin spat. "I'd much rather be turned into a frog! (Sorry Tink)" She shot the man in one of his thin knees and he simply grinned. Blue light went around the wound and spat the bullet out. "Conventional methods of murder won't stop Acolytes, princess. You need to think outside the box." He tapped the side of his head. "It's really not too hard."

Rozalin glared at the Acolyte and a pink, circular seal with four spikes coming from the center floated in front of her. "You insignificant fool! Do you not see this seal before me? This is undeniable proof of my relation to the greatest overlord, Overlord Zenon! Are you suggesting that my royal blood is false and I am unintelligent?"

The man smiled at her. "Of course not, but now I can test out that seal as Dawn requested."

The blue light formed around the man's fist and he lunged at Rozalin, getting ready to punch the seal before her.

* * *

After Adell knocked the other two men out, he turned to see Rozalin in the way of danger. "ROZALIN!" He shouted and began to run at her, with Tahlia right next to him. The man's fist connected with the seal. Electricity crackled through the air and Rozalin was flung back as if she were a ragdoll.

Darkness exploded from her chest and erupted around her like a black pillar. The people present staggered back from the force and Adell shouted Rozalin's name, but his voice was muffled out by the roar of the darkness.

* * *

"Axdrane and Xochitl, you're needed." Ryanx grumbled, standing on the ledge of a giant tower in End of the World. The two Heartless in question appeared before him and Axdrane asked, "Yeah busman?" Raynx turned to them and said, "I am sure the two of you noticed the spike in darkness that just came from Twilight Town. Odds are Venxik did as well and he is sending someone to investigate. Axdrane, I want you to check it out, and Xochitl; I want you to intercept anyone that comes from Venxik's side. Understand?"

"Yes." Xochitl said and left. A small breeze blew and she disappeared, leaving a few snowflakes behind. "Axdrane, any questions?" Raynx asked. Axdrane shook her head and left.

* * *

Venxik looked over at Somaxth and said, "Go. I want someone to check out that darkness. I am going in to the moon to try my luck at getting the weapon."

Somaxth nodded and left and Venxik turned to the giant heart-shaped moon. "So then, let's see who's protecting the treasure."

_It's frustrating me. Venxik isn't telling us what it is. He gave us pictures of what it looks like. A Giant purple-black crystal. What could something like that be used for? _Leashex looked up at the moon. _It must be something powerful for someone like him to guard it. I don't think Venxik would be safe._ She left the room with the large windows and walked up to the Altar of Naught. _I'm going to go with him. He can't do this alone._

* * *

"What the hell was that?" Kevin asked, looking up at the disappearing pillar of darkness. Tom, Ashlee and Xunahs were also looking up there. "That's in the woods!" Hayner said. He and Olette ran off, Xunahs and the Nobodys following close behind.

"Kevin, Xunahs, Ashlee, Dart, Kray and Tom ran past Pence, who was standing by the hole in the concrete wall that separated the town from the woods. Hayner and Olette tried to follow, but Ashlee turned around and shouted, "No! Don't come in, it's too dangerous!"

"Than why are you guys going in?" Hayner shouted back. "Because we don't have hearts to worry about!"

* * *

As the darkness cleared, Adell was happy to see Rozalin unharmed. But she looked different. Her colours seemed to have lost their brightness and were duller. Her eyes were black with red pupils. "Are you my enemy?" She asked the Acolyte. Her voice was much harsher and filled with power.

The man scrambled up onto his feet, eyes wide with terror. "I asked you. Are you my enemy?" Darkness formed around her. "Answer me, you insignificant worm. Are you my enemy?" She demanded.

The man glared up at her with a new resolve. "Depends, are you the enemy of Mistress Dawn?"

"Wrong answer. You have opened the gates to Hell." She answered, smiling cruelly. The darkness around her flew away from her and held the man captive in a giant, black sphere. Lightning struck the man from all sides, the man's agonized screams filling the forest. "Now, be gone!" She swept her hand out in front of her the sphere exploded, leaving the man with one agonized cry. Ash fell to the grassy floor, directly below where the man was held captive and Rozalin's eyes moved to Tahlia and Adell.

"You two. Are you my enemies as well?"

* * *

Kevin's group were thrown back out of the woods by an invisible force. Hayner, Pence and Olette were nowhere to be seen. In fact, most of Twilight Town had disappeared, replaced by darkness.

A girl walked gracefully out of the darkness, silver and gold robe fluttering behind her. "The knowledge of the past fifteen years has aided me a lot, I must admit." A giant spear formed in her hands. "And you will be the first to taste my powers at full strength!"

She ran at the group and spun the spear in a circle; a strong gust picked up Ashlee, Tom and Kray and threw them out through the barrier and on another patch of twilit cobblestone pavement.

* * *

"Why hello there, kiddies. Do you know what time it is?" Someone asked from inside the barrier Ashlee, Tom and Kray were in. "Let me give you a hint. The name of the time we are currently at rhymes with 'fly'. Any guesses?"

A long blade pinned Kray to the ground through the shoulder and a girl dressed in black with wavy brown hair stepped through the darkness. Tom immediately realized how much she looked like Andrea. "If you guessed it's time to die, you are absolutely correct!"

* * *

The woman walked around the three, gazing at them with a bored expression. Finally, she stopped in front of Dart and smirked at him. "I bet you never thought this would happen again, did you Dart? Never foresaw the rebirth of the vilest woman this side of the universe?"

Dart looked up at her. "Nope, can't say that I did, Dawn. You're still a knockout as you were back home, by the way. I mean sure, you still have that I'mgonnarapeyourdog vibe, but hey; No one is perfect."

Dawn smiled at him. "How foolish of you, Dart. Thanks to Venxik, I have regained my memories and my powers. Thanks to the fifteen years I spent with you oafs, I have learned newer ways to refine my powers. Sure, I am still a Nobody, but I am the most powerful of them all!"

"Yeah, whatever." Dart said. He warped directly above Dawn and fired his gun. Dawn raised her hand nonchalantly and stopped the projectile in mid air. She turned her head upwards, smiling at the Nobody fiercely. "Now Dart, you should know better than that."

Xunahs ran at her, using Dart's distraction to get at Dawn, who merely planted her heel in his chest and pushed the former Heartless at Kevin. She waved her hand and the two where encased in a large, silver sphere.

"Stop with your pitiful attempts at defeating me; I will play with the two of you later."

* * *

Jasmine ran at Marie Suzette and kicked her hard in the face. The girl was flung to the floor by the force of the kick and smashed her head hard on the brick floor. She got up shakily and glared at Jasmine. She spat out a tooth and ran at the Nobody, holding the sceptre ready to jab Jasmine hard in the chest with it.

Jasmine grabbed the sceptre and ripped it out of Marie's hands. She spun around and smashed the weapon on Marie Suzette's side. Before Marie could be knocked over, Jasmine made short, powerful swings that connected with bone breaking force along each of Marie's arms.

Marie let out a gasp of pain and Jasmine punched her in the chest with a fiery fist and knocked her over. "Come now, Marie. Is that really all you got?" Jasmine asked a dull expression painfully obvious on her face.

A soft pink light exploded around Marie and a small snow of sparkly glitter fell over her. She stood up, the glitter falling off and she was completely healed, as if her just disfigured arms had never been touched. On top of that, a pearl-white wing appeared on her right shoulder, and an onyx-black wing appeared on her left. She fluttered the two of them and was lifted gracefully into the air. Shimmering feathers falling to the floor.

"You don't understand who I am, do you?" She asked glaring at Jasmine. "Well let me explain, I am the daughter of an evil demon and a saintly angel. I am the goddess of light and darkness. I control the universe and I keep the order. I. AM." "MARY SUE!" Jasmine shouted.

Marie Suzette flew down at Jasmine and punched her in the face. Jasmine was knocked over backwards by the force of the blow. "Wow, have a cow why don't ya." Jasmine mumbled, rubbing her chin. She threw a ball of fire at Marie and smiled as the flame struck the girl's back. Marie tumbled in the air and fell to the ground. She walked up to Marie and planted Jasmine planted her foot on Marie's back. "Well, Mary Sue, I am not that special either. Just the sister of some annoying pyromaniac pedophile, not the spawn of a demon and an angel. Since when does that happen? I bet your real mommy is at home, crying about her baby running away, not aware of the fact that she is trying to dominate the universe. People like you that try to hide from who they are sicken me. You are a girl that probably has a bunch of friends back home, and what did you do? You abandoned them to see a few guys grind each other. You. Are. Pathetic."

"Want to know why I ran away?" Marie asked. Jasmine raised an eyebrow and asked, "Why?"

"Because, my friends and family hate me. My friend Tiffany got mad at me for making her look like a geek at a party held by the cool kids and my dad is always so unfair to me." She muttered, closing her eyes. "Unfair? How?" Jasmine asked, showing sympathy for the girl trapped under her foot.

"He constantly picks on me for what I write and what I like to do. Every time he sees my work, he will ground me. He removed my word processing programs from my computer, saying that what I type is the devil's work and that I should be a proper girl and be like everyone else. But I don't want to be like everyone else! I don't want to wear those short skirts and get high at all those _fucking_ parties. I want to live a respectable life and not be a druggie. I like to write, but my mind always gets dragged over to this _shit_!" She started sobbing.

Jan walked up; looking down at the girl with sympathy and Jasmine stepped off. The two offered to help Marie up.

"Look, Marie. Do you resent the stuff you write?" The girl nodded her head. "Okay, well I know someone that can remove the very thought of yaoi from your mind. Make you repulsed by it and will help make your father and friends accept you again. Do you want that?"

Marie nodded. "Yes. More than anything."

Jasmine looked at Jan, who nodded. "Okay, Marie. But before we do that, I want you to remove this affection every man has for each other and send them back home. Okay?" Marie smiled at Jan and said, "Okay. I will." She walked up to the computer behind her and punched a few keys. There was a loud whine as a large machine shut down.

* * *

Roxas looked around in bewilderment as the army of zombified boys stopped their approach and looked from one shirtless male to another and to Roxas, Vice and Anil. Some made gagging faces, some threw up. Some had embarrassed blushes and some... Some did just what that ellipse implies.

"What just happened?" Roxas asked. Anil chuckled and said, "I guess Jasmine did it. I'm going to grab Axel and Xigbar."

She left and Jasmine and Jan came out through a portal, a girl with tear-stained cheeks walking closely behind them. "Don't worry, Roxas. I got things under control. She's going to arrange for these boys to be sent home, the ones that are clones will be evaporated in a few seconds. The barriers that screw up our portals are demolished."

An hour passed as everyone present was given better clothes and sent back to their homes. Jasmine helped Marie into the _Highwind_ and sat with her and Jan as Axel flew the ship to where Marie said her world was. Anil, Roxas and Vice spent most of the time playing chess. The two Nobody Leaders beat Roxas without mercy when either one of them went up against him.

"Jasmine, thank you for doing all of this for me. So, how are you going to get a rid of my memories of what I did and my obsessions?" Marie asked. Jan looked curiously at Jasmine. "Yeah, what's your idea, Jasmine?"

Jasmine grinned. "Axel, can you take us to Alagaesia? Angela should be able to help out. If not, we can ask Arya."

Axel nodded, said "Good idea," and took the ship to the large world.

* * *

Venxik and Leashex walked side-by-side down the long hallway in the Kingdom Hearts moon. They saw the hearts of millions of people and the memories they contained. "Someone must have really been hard at work against the Heartless we have been making."

The two froze as they sensed someone with a lot of darkness. Enough to rival Venxik's walked down the hall towards them. He was dressed in black and was extremely muscular.

Venxik grinned, showing his sharpened teeth and said, "Well. It surely is an honour to meet you. Are you the one they call the Dragonlord?"

"I suppose. Are you this new god of darkness, Venxik?" A strange, black sword that seemed almost like a Keyblade appeared in his right hand.

Venxik summoned Interfecit and held it ready. "I suppose."

Leashex summoned Chaos and Anarchy and held them ready. _The Dragonlord? That's impossible._

* * *

Axel punched Maleficent in the face with all of his strength. To the surprise of the witch, she was knocked back. Axel jumped back and leaped towards her. He split up into five illusionary copies of himself and he appeared behind Maleficent. He kicked her in the back of the head and flipped backwards.

Maleficent growled and summoned five Defender Heartless. They quickly surrounded Axel, who jumped up and thrust his hand at the ground where he was standing. A large explosion evaporated the Heartless and he landed back on the ground as if nothing happened. He grabbed the witch and threw her to the ground.

She groaned and stood back up, using her staff for support. "You insignificant ruffian!" was all she could shout before a green fire enveloped her.

"I will show you the meaning of fear, worthless demon!"

* * *

Author's Note: Short 'n' sweet is fun. I must admit. Also, about the Marie Suzette thing at the end, where she has that little emo fest... I am not trying to say that yaoi writing/reading is bad. Everyone has their preferences, but I know people that basically have no one to go to anymore because they like yaoi. Anyways, on with the end

The end of chapter 38!


	39. End of the World

Chapter 39: End of the World

* * *

"Who are you?" Tom asked the girl standing in front of them. She smiled and removed the blade from Kray's shoulder and said, "I am Andrea's Heartless, Axdrane. I am guessing you are Somaxth's Nobody, Tom."

"Axdrane? So, where's your axes than? I see two gauntlets that have claws coming out of the knuckles, but that's about it." Ashlee stated in a bored tone. Axdrane huffed and the darkness making up her gloves broke up. It floated around her and two gigantic axes floated above her. She grabbed them and said, "You happy now, Ashlee?" Ashlee nodded. "Yeah, I am quite contented. So, mind telling me what the name of my Heartless is?"

"Leashex, she is second in command." Axdrane replied. "Really? That's cool. The funny thing here is that my Heartless has a cooler name than yours." "But Somaxth sounds cooler." Tom said cheerfully. Kray got up and healed his shoulder. "Well, Axdrane, I guess we never met. I was supposed to be Xunahs' opponent back when the Nobody Leaders and the Heartless were duking it out. Just so you know, Axdrane; we didn't try."

Axdrane began to cackle loudly. _Someone has a few screws loose._ Tom thought. "And who cares? I'm sure you saw me punching Dawn through the head."

"Every one of us wants to do that, Axdrane. And now, the two of you are allies. How does that make you feel?" Kray asked.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" She asked.

"Oh, and it gets better! Your beloved, Xunahs has joined us. He probably doesn't love you. I know how you got him to like you in the first place. Brainwashing is fun, isn't it?"

Darkness flowed around the Heartless. "What the fuck are you talking about?!" She shrieked.

Kray smirked smugly at the infuriated Heartless. That was the final thing she needed to snap. "I WILL RIP OFF YOUR FUCKING HEAD!"

She ran at the Nobody, swinging the axes madly. The three Nobodys ducked and Tom and Ashlee paled seeing the axes cut through the wall they were standing against seconds ago. _Like a hot knife through butter._ She thought to herself.

She summoned Corona and Tom looked around madly for rocks. They were on a small area on ground and it was thin enough as it was. If he started making rocks come up around him, the ground would collapse.

* * *

Somaxth landed on top of a box-like barrier. Someone had put in the effort to seal off the woods. Just past the tree line, he could see the mansion. The air around him got suddenly cold and he turned around to face Xochitl. "Why hello there, Xochitl." Somaxth said.

"Hello there, Somaxth. How do you like our battle field? There is nothing you can use for a weapon. You're going to die by my hands. Also, you should know full well who the real enemy is. Venxik will toss you aside. Raynx wants to make a kingdom in which all of us can co-exist. Don't you get it?" She asked.

"I don't believe Raynx. I believe he will throw you aside. I know you met Ryan, his Nobody. That guy was fucked up, the Nobody is never worse than the Heartless and you know it. Nobodys thrive in the realm of nothingness, Heartless live in darkness. If Ryan acts like that, imagine how Raynx would. He will stab you in the back the moment he gets the chance."

A large spiked mace appeared in his hands. "Oh, and as an fyi; I have a weapon."

* * *

"So, you're Dawn?" Kevin asked. "How were you able to get those people to act so different?"

Dawn smiled at him and then at Dart. "You are definitely funny, Kevin. The Kevin from that war torn universe asked me the same question. I didn't attack him of course, the Dragoons had allied themselves with the Samurai and therefore, with the humans. Actually, he was a pretty decent person. The people have darkness in their hearts, correct? Well, I used my own special magic on them to make the darkness even more powerful. Putting them at a level of darkness where their hearts will easily fall to the darkness and they will become a Heartless with the slightest nudge. I have learned that doing that is a great form of torture. After I infect their hearts, I put safeguards around them so that they can't fall, and the safeguards will absorb the excess darkness. Of course, some of these people are able to fight the darkness and bend it to their own wills and those people are known as Acolytes. They're more powerful than your usual human being and have a strong grasp of magic."

"That is actually... Kinda interesting. Wow. Hmm. I guess I have no comments on that." Kevin said thoughtfully.

Xunahs brought out his broadsword and Kevin summoned Vortex. "In the long run, it doesn't matter. I want my heart and home back. Dawn, you are going to pay for what you did to our home." Dart said, pointing the gun at Dawn's head. "Like I said fifteen years ago, I will make sure a bullet sails through your head, entering right between your eyes."

"That empty threat? That was hilarious then and still is now. I alone brought that pitiful world to its knees. Don't think that was my first one either! That was number ten before _he_ interfered and stole my heart shortly after your little queen beat me. Gabrielle and Interfecit. I spit their names like _poison_." She hissed. She ran at Dart and thrust her spear at the Nobody Leader. Dart warped and smashed his gun on the back of her head. She rolled towards Kevin who swung Vortex like an oversized golf club at Dawn's back. He added a bit of wind magic and made Dawn fly through the air. Xunahs jumped up and swung the flat of his blade at Dawn's head and sent her flying to the ground.

Dart floated casually to Dawn and aimed his gun at her head. "You may have refined your powers, but you are still Dawn 1.0" He pulled the trigger and the plasma charged projectile flew at the ground, and went straight through Dawn's head. The sorceress disappeared and a giant spear impaled Dart through the back.

The Nobody Leader let out a choked gasp and swore quietly. He looked at Kevin and Xunahs and said, "Well. I guess now is my time. Sorry I couldn't help out as well as I thought. I want to see this bitch next to" His words were cut off as the spear rose up and severed his head. The rest of the body faded and Dawn stepped from the darkness surrounding the group. "Damned idiot talked too much for my liking."

* * *

"Kray! Get up!" Tom shouted at the fading Nobody Leader, shaking his shoulders roughly. Axdrane had just finished cutting his torso out. "You Gamblers can alter time damn it! Go back in time and heal yourself!"

"Sorry Tom, doesn't work like that. Oh well, I had a good thirty year run. Who knows, maybe I will wake up from this, learning the past fifteen years was just a really vivid nightmare and I will have a beating heart." He gave a weak chuckle and faded.

Tom glared at Axdrane and let rocks come up out of the ground. The rocks twisted around him and became a large mace. "Oh what now? Is the little boy going to cry?" Axdrane asked teasingly. Tom growled and ran at her, swinging his mace at her head. She tried jabbing Tom in the chest with one of her gauntlets, but Ashlee blocked it and used her free hand to launch a ball of fire at Axdrane's face. The Heartless wheeled back, screaming in pain. Tom smashed her hard in the chest. She fell off the shrinking platform, swearing loudly and both people dismissed their weapons.

They turned around and in a flash, had two black hands crushing their throats.

Ashlee looked down at the owner of the hand and saw Hayner. Pence was holding Tom's throat and easily lifting the Nobody off the ground.

"Ashlee, Tom. Have fun." Was all Axdrane said before leaving out through a portal.

"Hayner... Let go... Can't breathe." Ashlee gasped. Hayner just chuckled, his laugh warped by darkness. He threw Ashlee to the ground and Pence did the same to Tom.

"What do you think happened to them?" Tom asked.

"I think they became Heartless, but I haven't seen anything like this before." Ashlee said. They rolled away from the two Heartless' stomps and got up. "They're mirroring each other. That's new." Tom said. Ashlee nodded and ducked under Hayner's foot as it swung for her head. She sprung up and tackled Hayner, pinning him and Pence to the ground. She and Tom switched positions and she summoned Corona. She stepped over so that she was above their heads and shoved the Keyblade through the two Heartless' skulls.

The two looked up at her with shocked expressions and vanished, two pink hearts floated away and the cobblestone platform Ashlee and Tom were standing on began to be absorbed by the darkness at an alarming rate.

"We need to get out of here, Ashlee!" Tom shouted. Ashlee looked away from the place Hayner's head was only a few seconds before and nodded at Tom. "Yeah, let's go."

She tried to open a portal and realized it wouldn't come. "Well what the Hell?" She asked. She noticed that there wasn't much space left between her and the black abyss and started to back away. Tom let out a yelp as he fell through a portal. Ashlee looked around nervously and quickly followed Tom.

* * *

Somaxth smashed the wall of ice flying at him with his mace and ran at Xochitl, batting away all of her projectiles. He jumped and brought his mace down on her. She twirled out of the way and tried to stab him in the chest with her rapier. He pointed his left hand at her and a rock shot out of his sleeve, going through her rapier with ease and smashing into her shoulder. She swore and grabbed her broken shoulder with her free hand and jumped out of the way of the mace's second swing.

She grabbed Somaxth's right arm and squeezed with all her strength. Somaxth let out a gasp as his arm became encased with ice. He threw her off and was about to hit her with his mace when she exploded with a cloud of ice and she appeared right in front of him. She smiled smugly and grabbed his face, letting the ice magic flow freely.

* * *

The old man waited patiently on the field for Venxik. He grinned as a Heartless came at him. An Air Soldier. It was holding an envelope. He took it and read the letter inside.

"_Dear old man, _

_Sorry to tell you this, but I have more pressing matters at hand than meeting you. Hearts to steal, superweapons to build. I'm sure you understand._

_Nothing personal, Venxik_"

The Air Soldier was getting ready to leave when the old man looked up at it. "Please, wait here." He said. The Heartless nodded and went next to him. With a calm face, he grabbed the Heartless by the throat. The Heartless gave a surprised squawk and its darkness flowed into the man. A pink heart floated away and the man clapped his hands, sat down and waited.

* * *

Venxik ducked under the Dragonlord's sword and stabbed up with Interfecit. The man disappeared just before the sword touched him and aimed to stab at Venxik's back. The Heartless rolled away and fired a ball of darkness at the Dragonlord. He threw the attack aside with his hand and ran at Venxik again.

Venxik grinned, realizing the man was actually worth fighting and ran at him, holding Interfecit ready. The two swords clashed and darkness exploded around the two. Venxik grabbed the Keyblade with his free hand, trying to pull it away from its wielder and immediately regretted his actions. Darkness streamed from the weapon and into his own hand. He pulled back, feeling a massive amount of pain and quick, short bursts of pain in his head. He groaned and stumbled back. He glared at the man with out-of-focus eyes that were fluxing between Venxik's usual red and a strange gold; the pupils became slits and reverted to their usual dots, almost as if they were trying to figure out how they should appear.

Venxik's eyes went red again and he shook his head. "That was a dirty trick, whatever it was." He spat. The Dragonlord raised an eyebrow. "What? Me, dirty tricks? Never! I will give you my word as Tenshi Kurai that I will never do such an underhanded thing like a trick! Scouts honour."

Venxik paled. "Gshwaha? Kurai...? Wait a second! You disappeared hundreds of years ago! There's no way you could still be running around." Leashex nodded her agreement. Kurai smirked at them and said, "Glad to be remembered, you two. I guess you remember Betrayal?"

"Couldn't tell you. I don't even know how I got your name and all that other crap." Venxik said.

"I guess you're still incomplete. Well, that makes this a disappointment." The dragons head on Betrayal opened and a roar was released. "This should go by quickly." Darkness exploded around Venxik and his body became black. "Indeed it will."

Leashex let the darkness surround her. She grinned at Kurai, who winked at her. Leashex ran at him first. She jumped and spun rapidly in mid air. Kurai vanished and grabbed Chaos with his hand and flung the weapon, with Ashlee attached away. Venxik glared at Kurai and said, "Well, I honestly was not expecting you to grab that sword bare handed."

"However, I bet you were expecting this, Tenshi Kurai!" Venxik's voice changed and his eyes became gold, his pupils changed to black slits. A large scaly tale burst from his hindquarters and scaled covered his exposed flesh. Two black wings burst from his back and he began to cackle in a twisted voice that sounded something like a snarl.

Kurai looked at the warped Heartless. "Yeah, definitely saw that coming. If you're in there Venxik, you are a boob."

* * *

"We have a visual on Alagaesia." Axel yawned "And now the captain is going to take a nap. Be sure to wake me up when we land."

Axel went to one of the rooms of the ship and within minutes, a loud snore echoed from it. Marie looked over at Jasmine. "Is he always-" "Always. And why yes, he does snore like a bear. Fangirls beware, Axel snores like a bear!"

Jasmine stood up and said, "I have something you guys will like. It's in my room."

They watched Jasmine walk off and heard her say something along the lines of "I'm gonna roll that cow" The Nobodys looked at each other and over at an ecstatic Marie. "What is she talking about?" Xigbar asked.

"Oh, you'll see."

(Half an hour later)

"Dude! I totally rolled that cow!" Xigbar and Jasmine yelled at the same time. They glared at each other and put down their respective controllers. "Excuse me, noob? You roll'd da cow?" Jasmine growled. Xigbar summoned his guns and pointed one at her. "You bet your two front teeth I did."

"Oh it's ON shark bait!" Jasmine roared. She lunged at Xigbar and Roxas looked over at Marie. "I guess it's our turn now."

The fifteen minutes passed with Jasmine and Xigbar amassing an impressive collection of bruises. Xigbar's functioning eye was nearly swelled shut and Jasmine has a stiff arm. Roxas and Marie had a respectful roll war, Marie won barely and Roxas looked depressed by the outcome. Anil, Jan and Vice often exchanged worried glances. "We haven't seen Dawn yet. Where do you think she is?" Anil whispered.

"Don't know, but she could be with the other guys. Gabrielle, Dart and Kray are there though, they can handle themselves." Vice said.

"What if they died?" Jan asked.

"What if who died?" Xigbar asked.

_Curse you and your elf ears!_ Jan yelled mentally to herself.

"Gabrielle, Dart and Kray. That's who." Anil said.

"Those three? They are made of tough stuff, they are pretty untouchable." Xigbar said.

"Not really, Xigbar. Those Heartless that have been wandering around are very tough. Every single one of us was defeated. Some were tossed aside like garbage, like Twilight Thorn. That Leashex girl really only had to look at it and it would have died. Dawn was punched through the head by that Axdrane girl too." Vice looked up at Xigbar. "On top of that, Venxik has taken Dawn and Gard under his wing. The reason we're here is to give some support. Maybe if I didn't go up against Venxik, if I had gone up against any other Heartless and had taken care of them, this whole fiasco with Dawn and Gard wouldn't have happened."

"Come on, Vice, it was luck of the draw. If anyone else went up against Venxik, they would have died. You were just lucky Gabrielle was able to swoop in to save the day." Jan said, patting his shoulder comfortingly.

Vice looked at her and nodded. She nodded back and looked over at the teens that had moved on to a fighting game. "I remember fifteen years ago when I was able to live a carefree life and beat the crap out of everyone at videogames." Jan sighed. "It was wonderful. Then Dawn came around, our world was thrown into chaos and when we finally beat her, some old fart comes along and steals our hearts. At least he had courtesy to remove Dawn's and Gard's memories."

Xigbar sat down. "So, you guys all knew each other before your hearts were taken away?" Vice nodded. "Yes, we did. Gabrielle and I were in high school at the time, Jan and Anil were dealing with monsters that were running rampant through the leftover cities. Kray and Dart were military men. Dart was the best sharpshooter, too."

Xigbar let out a low whistle. "Whoa, sounds harsh. It's like Hollow Bastion, but with people still living there." Vice nodded. "Yeah, it was bad. The only two cities left that were safe for people to live in were Alche and Oasis. Alche was mine and Gabrielle's birthplace. Oasis was just a few dozen miles off, but the closest city to us. I still remember that argument we had about guns and swords as we ran through the woods. Ever since then, I never left home without a sword strapped to my waist, I'm pretty happy I wound up as a Samurai."

The ship shuddered as it landed, and Jasmine who had unleashed a killer combo on Roxas walked over to wake up Axel. There was an argument, and Axel stumbled out of the room groggily. "Okay, let's go." He smashed the button that opened the ship. Marie was standing between him and Jasmine. What happened next, they all could honestly say they didn't see coming.

Two blazing swords thrust through the air and entered Marie's chest, right where her heart was. She let out a choked gasp and fell into the outstretched arms of a girl that was standing in front of them. The girl stood Marie upright and punched the girl hard in the chest. The girl looked up at the Nobodys as her hand dug thoughtfully through Marie's chest cavity. Her eyes brightened and she said, "I'll be taking this." and Marie was overtaken by the darkness.

Jasmine lunged at the girl and threw a punch at her head. The girl ducked and grabbed Jasmine by the arms, spun and threw Jasmine away. Jasmine landed, her impact making sand fly all around her. She got a good look at her surroundings. _The Hadarac Desert. Great. Wait a second... There is sand flying everywhere and it's very windy. But it's not the same as a sandstorm._ She looked up at the sky and saw a ball of darkness floating there, sucking everything in.

_JASMINE! WE NEED TO GO, NOW! _Axel yelled at her mentally. Jasmine sprinted madly for the gummi ship and jumped in just as the hatch started closing. "Who was that?" She asked between gulps of air.

Vice looked at her and said, "That was your Heartless."

Jasmine watched as the desert started collapsing into a black abyss. "I thought Kevin sealed the Keyhole." Jasmine muttered. "Oh, but he did." The Nobodys present turned around to see the Heartless that had just attacked them. "And it was a bitch to get around. I was worried I'd just have to settle with only taking everyone's heart. I guess I didn't have to worry. That Galbatorix guy was able to get away. Smart man."

"Who are you anyways?" Jasmine asked. "As Vice already told you, I am your Heartless. Maxjisne is my name, burning shit down is my game."

Jan stepped in front of Jasmine. "And why are you antagonizing us now?"

"Because I'm bored. You have no idea how painful it is, being cooped up in a continuously dark world." Maxjisne said.

"Are you kidding?" Axel asked. "Seriously, somebody tell me this chick is kidding. I have been stuck in that damn Castle That Never Was for like six years! During those six years, I had to hear Xemans go on and on about how we didn't exist and how we didn't have hearts. I do not want to hear you griping about being stuck in some black abyss for three quarters of a year. Especially when you are a Heartless!" Axel was angry; fire was blazing all around him. The Nobodys present backed off.

"Holy crap, what did Xemnas do to you guys?" Jasmine asked Roxas in a low voice. "Well, he did have a 'no screwing around' policy. We did ignore that a lot. Uh, he also did this weird cult thing in which we were all gathered on the altar and he would preach to us about how we had no hearts and were shunned by the light and darkness."

"Sounds like a cheery fellow." Jasmine muttered. Roxas nodded. "Yeah, he was probably the most upbeat man named Mansex you would have ever known."

Jasmine looked at Xigbar and looked back towards Axel, and then back at Xigbar. "X-I-G-B-A-R... Hmm..."

Jan, Roxas and Xigbar were looking at Jasmine with interest and suddenly it came to her. She looked up at Xigbar and shouted, "No way! Your anagrammed name spells BIGRAX! AHAHAH"

All of Axel's seriousness was washed away and everyone in the gummi ship stood in stunned silence. Jan recovered first and charged for Maxjisne. She wrapped her arms around the Heartless' waist and flew out of the still open hatch with the Heartless. Anil ran after Jan and Maxjisne and dived out after them.

Maxjisne screamed in fury as she and Jan plummeted to the quickly disappearing ground. Jan punched her hard in the jaw and let go. Maxjisne threw moon blade at Jan and grinned with satisfaction as the sword went through the Nobody Leader's skull. When the Nobody faded, a spiky arm flew through the nothingness that made Jan up and impaled Maxjisne through the chest. Anil's second arm was about to pierce Maxjisne's neck. She grabbed the arm and shot a ball of fire at point blank range into Anil's head.

The Nobody exploded into nothingness and Maxjisne landed on the sand sloppily. She made a portal and staggered through it back to Raynx, to whom she would give her report.

"They're gone." Axel said in disbelief. "That bitch killed them. How is that possible?"

"These Heartless are tough." Vice said. "Some of them are more powerful than Ansem or Xemnas. Of course, there are only three of them, and Ansem himself. On top of that, Heartless are more powerful if they are close to the darkness. I fought their leader, Venxik. He was toying with me and I lost."

"I don't really care. Shit is going down and we need to stop it." Axel said. Everyone except Vice agreed. "They are at End of the World." Roxas said. "It only makes sense, The World That Never Was was blown up by Xemnas, remember?"

"Actually, no. Both Xigbar and I were dead, remember?" Axel replied.

"Let's go, then. Xemnas can't take the three of us plus Vice and Jasmine on. So, these guys are going to get crushed."

"So, let's get a move on, you ignoramus boobs!" Jasmine shouted.

* * *

"What are you talking about Rozalin? We aren't your enemies!" Tahlia shouted. Rozalin turned towards her and a bolt of black lightning tore through the sky, striking the girl. "Silence. All things living are my enemies."

"But why?" Tahlia asked weakly, having survived the lightning bolt. "Why is everything alive your enemy?"

"Because. Everyone will betray me."

"But we're your friends!" Adell shouted.

"Friends will betray me."

"And Taro? He is your servant! What about Tink?" Adell shouted. "Yukimaru, Mom, Dad, Hanako? Come on, Rozalin! Wake up!"

"Silence."

She waved her hand and several bolts of lightning shot down. The two dodged the attacks.

"You get people to come and steal the heart of one super powered dark entity, and they get held up by other people. How is this going to help my cause?" Someone said from behind a tree. There was a black blur as he rushed out from behind the tree and prepared to strike Rozalin across the back with a thin, black sword.

The demon turned around and grabbed it easily with one hand and tore it out the Heartless' grasp. She struck him with a bolt of lightning and encased him in a black sphere. "Don't think such petty assassination tactics will work on me, child."

"You can't blame a Heartless for trying, can you?" He asked.

"Why yes, I can." Lightning started flying around inside the black ball, striking the Heartless inside repeatedly. He let out an agonized scream as the lighting went through him. The ball disappeared and so did the darkness making up the Heartless.

"Don't think I'm so easy to kill. I am Raynx, the most powerful Heartless that has ever lived. If you think you can beat me, you got another thing coming."

Dozens of blurs shot out from the trees, striking at Rozalin. She blocked all of them and the Heartless making up those blurs were visible. Tahlia gasped. It was Ryan's Heartless. The Raynx copies jumped back, able to stand in mid air. They ran at Rozalin from all angles and swung at her simultaneously. Blood gushed from the cuts made by the swords. "They're all solid? But how is that possible?"

"Are they all solid, or am I just really damn fast?" Raynx asked from the trees. Rozalin grinned. "So, you are using the trees for covering. Well, I can fix that problem. Darkness exploded around her and she rose into the air, rising through the barrier Xochitl and Somaxth were fighting on. Several crimson rings formed around her and as she got higher, they exploded. Making the ground below barren. The clouds in the atmosphere swirled around her and two giant red wings burst from her back. They collapsed in on each other and a giant red beam of light shot through the sky and hit Raynx directly.

The force of the explosion threw everyone off their feet and several yards away. Rozalin landed back on the forest floor, teeth clenched. Raynx got back onto his feet. "Damn it. She's too strong. There's no way I can beat her."

He turned to Tahlia and Adell. "Good luck." He said and left through a portal.

* * *

"What the hell was that?" Kevin asked, his face planted in the ground. He got up and saw that the trees in the forest were gone. Dawn and Xunahs were also looking over where the explosion happened.

"I have no idea. But whatever it was... Hey! Where do you think you're going?" Xunahs yelled at Dawn, who was backing away. "Anywhere that isn't he—" Her words were cut off as a spear made of energy went through her torso. She fell over, disappearing into the black abyss and a tall Nobody stepped through the barrier, holding the weapon.

"Sorry I was so late. We need to get out of here, my name is Gabrielle. I am the leader of the Nobodys currently." She jumped over the wall; cubes of energy formed around Kevin and Xunahs and carried them after her. They floated over to Adell, Tahlia and a now unconscious Rozalin.

Tahlia got up slowly and said, "Oh thank God someone else is here!" Gabrielle nodded. "Yes, we are. How are these two doing?" She asked, nodding at Adell and Rozalin. "Well, they were just fine and dandy until Raynx left." Tahlia said.

Adell and Rozalin stood up, facing the others. Adell clenched his teeth and swore and Rozalin groaned in pain. They fell on the ground and their hearts left their bodies.

Raynx stepped out from behind a felled tree and said, "Well. That was easy. Now I can examine this girl's heart and tap into the power located deep within!" He grinned when he looked at Kevin. "So, you must be Venxik's Nobody. How interesting. My name is Raynx, the leader of the Heartless that are opposing Venxik. Unlike him, I want to unite the Nobodys, Heartless and Somebodys together under one ruler, myself."

"So, in other words, you want to be a dictator." Kevin said.

"Indeed."

"Well, we can't let that happen, bro." Xunahs said, holding his broadsword ready. "Hm? Xunahs, really, you are pathetic, there's no way you could even touch me." Raynx said, glaring at his brother. Xunahs looked away and Kevin glared at Raynx.

"Wow, you are one shitty brother, aren't you?" He asked. Raynx looked down at him, "What was that shorty?" Kevin smirked. "Shorty?" He stood up to his full height and was now looking down on Raynx. "Sorry, sometimes I have a bad habit of slouching or crouching when I am ready to bash in skulls. As I was saying, you are a shitty brother. I don't care if you are a Heartless or not, belittling someone just because they are younger than you is stupid. I am a Nobody, but I didn't treat him like that when we were brothers back in Alagaesia. Heck, I would have beaten the crap out of anyone that belittled him."

Raynx was unmoved by the speech. "Xunahs, you really are pathetic! You even looked to this loser to protect you from a few thugs." Kevin ground his teeth and charged his fist with electricity. He punched Raynx hard in the jaw and said, "You are also shitty at listening."

"And why should you care about someone else's emotional well being?" Raynx asked, stepping back.

"It's in my nature. It's who I am. Even without a heart, I can still connect with people whose hearts are in pain. I won't let something as minor as lacking a heart, stop me from being who I am. That's why I am going around, trying to stop you guys. Even without a heart, I will not give up; if it means not being able to protect those that I care for. Never!"

"Pfft. You are naive." Raynx said, holding his sword out. "No one person can protect everyone. Just look at your friends. Your beautiful Destiny Islands are gone, Alagaesia was wiped out, Twilight Town is nothing but this small patch of barren land, your two friends just lost their hearts. You are only one kid without a heart. There's no way you can stop the end of the universe."

"They are gone, yes. But that only gives me the desire to strive further to stop you guys, to make sure more people don't suffer!" Kevin shouted.

Tahlia glared at Raynx and yelled, "You are going to pay for what you did to Adell and Rozalin!"

Xunahs stood straight and said, "And I'll prove that I am worth something. I'll do that by killing you!"

Gabrielle smiled. "What can I say, Raynx? You have awakened their inner fires. Have fun with that."

Kevin and Xunahs ran at Raynx and swung their weapons down at him. He jumped back and yelled in pain as his twelve kunai found their marks up and down his arms. Tahlia snapped her fingers and tens of thousands of volts of electricity shot through his body.

Raynx' limbs flailed uselessly and he collapsed on the ground.

Xunahs ran for Raynx and jumped high in the air, spinning the sword deftly in his right hand. "NOW DIE!" The sword sank in through Raynx' chest. The Heartless coughed up blood and his vision turned red.

_I remember feeling this way back when Venxik first took my heart. That was painful. And this sword is probably shooting venom through my veins right now as I think._

"It's not over. Not yet, not until I say it is." He gasped. He gripped the sword, cringing as the blade cut into his hand. He pushed the sword out from his chest and sank in through a portal in the ground.

"Damn. He got away." Xunahs growled, dismissing the weapon. Kevin dismissed Vortex and said, "Yeah. But we know that we can beat him." Tahlia looked around them and up at Gabrielle. "Uh, excuse me miss, but where are our friends Ashlee and Tom?" She asked. Gabrielle looked down at her. "Oh, them? They're waiting for you, along with Axel, Xigbar, Roxas, Jasmine and Vice." She opened a portal. "Let's go."

* * *

"Such a powerful vessel." Venxik looked around. He was in a dark cave. He could hear the distant rush of a stream nearby.

"Yes, powerful. Perhaps I can take you under my wing."

"Who's there?" Venxik shouted. "Reveal yourself!" The person behind the voice did so, stepping out behind a stalagmite.

"A dragon?" Venxik asked, tilting his head. The dragon was lean and tall, standing up on its hind legs. Its scales were black like obsidian and the serrated claws on its hands looked sinister. The dragon seemed to be a creature from hell.

"Not a dragon, the Dragon. You will be my host and eternal slave"

Venxik grinned. "Not on your life, dragon." The Dragon scowled. "It's The Dragon, not dragon."

"How can you even tell?"

"Meh."

He dashed for Venxik, who brought up Interfecit to block the attack. The Dragon kicked Venxik in the chest. He staggered backwards from the force of the blow and sank into the ground. Several copies of him shot up from the ground, surrounding The Dragon. They charged at him from all sides and latched on to him. Venxik stepped from the shadows, holding out his hand. He closed it into a fist and said, "Combust."

The copies exploded in a fiery ball that engulfed The Dragon. Venxik watched the inferno for the slightest movement within. He smirked as he saw something dart from the fire and towards him from the left. He turned to intercept it with Interfecit and threw it to the ground. "Really, you are being too easy, you little bastard."

Venxik felt something crush his calf and he was lifted into the air by The Dragon's tail. It scowled at him and threw him to the ground some ten feet away. It summoned Betrayal and hissed, "Now you will surrender your strength to me!"

* * *

Leashex watched Kurai as he watched a frozen Venxik. The Heartless' eyes were open, but were glassed over, changing from red to gold. Currently it was gold. She looked up at Kurai and asked, "Aren't you going to kill him or something?" Kurai shook his head.

"Nah, this is too interesting to pass up on. I want to see if Venxik can win. Damned idiot, grabbing Betrayal like that."

"What is happening to him?" She asked.

"Oh, nothing much. Just an internal battle for whoever gets dominance over his body." He replied in a bored tone.

"What?"

"He is fighting a pretty little dragon from the land of unicorns and mountains made of candy. If he wins, he gets to keep his body. But if he doesn't, it belongs to the pretty little dragon." He said, voice dripping with sarcasm.

She glared at him. "You suck."

"Why thank you." He bowed mockingly at her.

Venxik's eyes turned gold and then red again. He blinked repeatedly and shook his head. He staggered and was about to fall over. Leashex went to grab him and Kurai nodded. "I see..." He said. He turned around and left.

"Huh? Where do you think you're going? Aren't you going to protect the crystal?" Venxik asked.

"Take your damn Crystal of Darkness, those kids will beat you into the ground when the time comes, I was just testing you."

* * *

Kevin felt something tug on him hard as he stepped through the portal. He gave a surprised yelp and grabbed on to Xunahs' and Tahlia's hands. Some unseen force ripped them out of the dark corridor.

He closed his eyes as he tumbled through the darkness and landed painfully in a large body of warm water. He surfaced and found himself in the middle of the ocean. He turned around and saw shore only a few yards off. He, Tahlia and Xunahs swam for shore and sat on the sand. Kevin got up, feeling the warm island breeze he remembered so well. He turned around to get a better look at his location.

"No way... Am I back home?"

* * *

"The Crystal of Darkness is now mine." Venxik said, lifting the gargantuan gem with his psychic powers. "Leashex, please lead the way."

She nodded and left, Venxik followed close behind.

"Finally, with the Crystal of Darkness in my possession, I can take over the universe. This dragon inside me is very annoying, but I'm sure we can reach an agreement soon enough. Yes yes, you'll gain control and whatnot. That's nice."

He walked out of Kingdom Hearts, the crystal bobbing slowly behind him. "And all life shall cease to exist."

* * *

"And so we meet again." Axdrane said from behind Ashlee and Tom, who were standing on a wide pillar in the middle of nowhere.

"What do you want from us now?" Ashlee asked, summoning Corona.

A swarm of small rocks floated around Tom.

"You two must be wondering something: Who exactly is this gorgeous girl in the grand scheme of things? Well, I'll let you know. I am the big boss, babies!"

Ashlee smirked at her. "Big boss? Pfft. No way."

"It's more like Mid-Boss!" Tom replied.

Axdrane looked stunned for a moment. "WHAT?! MID-BOSS?! WHAT A DISGRACEFUL NAME FOR ONE OF MY STATURE!"

She lunged at Tom and tried to punch him in the face. He ducked under the Heartless and brought a small stone pole out of the ground and sent it flying into her chest. She wheezed out a breath of air and tumbled on the ground.

* * *

Jasmine spun around and held her hand out to catch the blazing sword just before it severed her head. "Tch, good reflexes there, Jasmine." Maxjisne said. She brought Sun Blade through the air, ready to strike her, but Vice blocked it with Caineghis. Roxas came up from behind her and she kicked him in the chest. She pulled her two swords away and dashed at the Keybearing Nobody, cutting him along the chest with both swords. Roxas gasped in pain as he collided with the basalt floor, inches away from the bubbling magma below.

"BURN BABY!" Axel roared as he threw both of his flaming chakrams at Maxjisne. Both struck her on the back. She stumbled and spun around to face her, hair damp with sweat and her bangs dangling limply over her eyes.

"You first." She spat. She dashed at Axel, whose chakrams had yet to return to him. She leaped at him and held both swords ready to sink them into him. His chakrams returned just in time. He blocked both swords and smirked at her. His smirk faded away as his lungs suddenly felt they were on fire. He opened his mouth in a soundless scream and fire erupted from his throat. He fell backwards and began fading.

Jasmine watched in horror as her brother faded. She ran for him, screaming his name. He weakly held up his hand, gave her the thumbs up and disappeared.

* * *

"Fear? Hah! The Dark Hero knows nothing about fear! He has made enough ding-dong-ditches to make everyone fear him for all eternity!"

Maleficent began to cackle. "Those pathetic pranks? Ahahaha!" Axel grinned and felt his fist charge with energy. Lightning shot from it and it became engulfed in darkness. "HERE I GO!" He roared. He threw a punch and moved slowly across the small gap between him and Maleficent. His fist hit her in the gut lightly and he jumped back. Maleficent was starting to cackle again, but then light shone out of her.

"What's this? There's so much light! No, get it away! NOOOO!" Rays of light exploded from where Axel hit her and the witch exploded in a ball of fire.

"And that's all she wrote." Axel said smugly.

* * *

Author's Note: -runs to hide from Axel fangirls-


	40. The End, Part One

(A/N about chapter lengths and crap at the bottom, if you for some odd reason, don't want to read the awesome stuff in between this an the bottom author's note)

* * *

Chapter Forty: The End, Part One

"AXEL!" Jasmine screamed. She got up to run for her fading brother, but before she even got close, he disappeared. The last she saw of him was his thumbs up. Maxjisne laughed at her and asked, "What? You are getting emotional over someone? You're a Nobody! You don't cry!" Jasmine's fists shook violently and she looked up at Maxjisne with tears rolling down her cheeks.

"I will make you pay." Jasmine said darkly. Maxjisne pretended to look shocked. "Oh? The Nobody girl is trying to be _threatening_ now? Sorry, but your ability to be intimidating went down the drain when you started weeping over the life of another one of your disgusting Nobody friends." Jasmine looked up at Maxjisne, fists clenched and shaking violently. "I will make you pay, you bitch!" She yelled.

Jasmine ran at Maxjisne. She felt fire run down both her arms and Axel's chakrams came to her. Without thinking, she jumped and spun mid-air, throwing both weapons at Maxjisne. The Heartless ducked underneath the two, but wasn't able to get out of the way of Jasmine's heel that crushed her nose. She fell backwards and on her butt, the tails of her coat flying in the air.

(A/N: Good God, I need to describe these Heartless' clothes better before I start doing the action scenes. No one in the fic is perpetually nekked, got it?)

Roxas got up and ran for Maxjisne. He swung Oathkeeper at her, but she rolled out of the way of the swing and sliced Moon Blade along the length of his arm. She grabbed him by the jacket and spun around, the crimson tails of her sleeveless shirt (Hah, I can squeeze it in, folks) flowing in a circle around her. She stopped spinning and let go of Roxas.

Jasmine gasped as he flew straight for the magma, but sighed in relief as Xigbar warped in to catch Roxas. "Don't worry, I got him!" He shouted. Roxas collided with Xigbar, knocking him off balance and temporarily breaking his control over gravity. Jasmine let out a loud cry as the two Organization members fell into the magma.

"That sucks." Maxjisne said. "It feels like they didn't even try. Oh well, you should put up a much better fight." She grinned at Jasmine and Vice.

"I will make you suffer!" Vice shouted. He ran at her with Caineghis. She tried to slash at him, but he disappeared and cut her along the back with the flaming sword. Jasmine threw her two chakrams at Maxjisne and ran at the Heartless.

Maxjisne spun around and punched Jasmine in the chest and grabbed one of the chakrams that had reappeared in Jasmine's hands and threw it at Vice. The Nobody got out of the way and clenched his teeth. _Damn, this is becoming difficult._

Maxjisne grabbed Jasmine's jacket and held her up so that the two's eyes were level. "Doesn't it suck, Jasmine to have your brother die on you? You were so far away from each other for so many years, and then he charges all gung-ho in here only to get his body burnt to a crisp from the inside out. Want to know how this happened, Jasmine? I'll tell you. It's because you were too weak to protect yourself, and your brother saw that. He tried to take me on alone, and he became a pile of ashes."

Jasmine's eyes became squeezed shut. She clenched her teeth, tears rolling down her cheeks. Maxjisne smiled with satisfaction.

"DIE YOU BITCH!" Jasmine screamed. She punched Maxjisne hard in the gut with her chakram and flung the chakram that was still attached away, effectively dragging the Heartless with it.

"Oh, that is going to leave a mark." Vice said, watching Maxjisne roll over the blackened ground.

* * *

"So, you got your mission?" The voice said over the phone. The girl holding the phone to her ear was wearing tight jeans and a tight shirt with two tails trailing down the end of so they dragged across the floor. She nodded, her short brown hair bouncing with the movement. "Yes sir, I got it. Get the captive hearts of Halixat, Axdrane and Raynx and bring them back to you for experimentation. Understood." She put on a silver mask with two black holes for eyes and a small grate for her mouth and nose.

"Is the mask necessary, though? I feel like some sort of axe murderer."

"Of course it is! Do you want the secrecy of your mission to be compromised?" The girl smacked her head. "No sir, I don't… But how does…" "No further questions, got it?" "Okay." She sighed and tucked the phone in her pocket.

She looked around the marble halls. _The castle that drains people of their memories. Is that the truth, or was it the work of that Namine girl Organization XIII had under their control? Either way, it doesn't matter._

She disappeared, leaving a few ice crystals and snowflakes behind.

* * *

"No, it doesn't feel the same. The waves are loud as ever, the wind feels the same, but this place makes me feel uneasy." Kevin muttered. He turned around to see the rundown shack and saw that it was crumbling to the ground. It collapsed and the remnants blew away like dust in the wind.

"Guys, stay together, something isn't right here." Xunahs said. "Gabrielle, where are you?" Tahlia yelled.

Kevin looked around and opened his mechanical wings. "I'm going up for a better look." He jumped into the air and got high up and looked around. He came back down and said, "There's nothing out there, just ocean." There was a tremor and everyone was thrown off their feet and their heads were nearly planted in the sand.

The shaking stopped and the three got back up. Kevin gasped and looked around. The big tree in the middle of the islet was split down the middle and the ocean was all gone, a few pieces of rock and sand were floating in the abyss off the island.

Kevin scanned the destroyed shores and saw a tall, lone man standing on one of the floating rocks, arms stretched out as if he were preaching to an unseen audience, The man was wearing a light gray coat and silver-gray hair went down to the small of his back. "Who's that?" Kevin asked. Tahlia and Xunahs summoned their weapons. "That's Ansem." They said in unison.

"Who? Ansem the Wise?" He asked.

"No, the other one, Xehanort's Heartless."

"Ah, okay." Kevin summoned Vortex.

"Shall we go talk to him?"

"Let's."

They walked up behind him and he started talking, with his back turned to them and his arms spread wide open.

"So, I see my plan worked. If I can destroy one of the three remaining Keybearers, my job will be much easier. It was a brilliant plan of mine to split you up. I must thank the king for unknowingly separating you into two groups, however." Ansem turned around, smiling at them with white teeth gleaming and orange-red eyes sparkling in the artificial sun. "Those without hearts will never defeat me. And I will prove it."

_Ouch, why am I ignored? I have a heart, I'm a freaking human!"_ Xunahs said to Kevin mentally. Kevin smirked. "That's just how the cookie crumbles, bro."

"Aren't you going to give us some sort of speech about how we know nothing about the heart?" Kevin asked.

The Guardian appeared behind Ansem with hits arms folded across its chest. "No, I don't believe such an obvious truth would be needed. You lack hearts, and as such, you wouldn't understand them."

Kevin grinned. "You're probably right, but I do get an idea of how the human spirit works. But if you don't want to chat it up, I don't mind."

The Guardian disappeared and reappeared behind Xunahs. It lifted him up by the shoulders and Ansem moved towards him, surrounded by a sphere of energy. Kevin came up from behind Ansem and jumped high into the air. He slammed Vortex on the Heartless' back. The energy sphere broke and the Guardian released its grip on Xunahs, returning to Ansem's side to block any further attacks.

He got high up into the air, with the Guardian floating right behind him. He started to laugh as the Heartless began firing energy disks at the three below. Tahlia jumped out of the way of one of the disks, making a very audible gulp as it sent sand flying, but didn't pay attention to the second disk that slammed into her chest. She was knocked backwards and into one of the trees. Xunahs clenched his teeth and threw his sword at Ansem like a boomerang.

The Guardian caught the broadsword and threw it at the ground. It dug itself into the ground so that the blade was pointed up at the sky and Kevin grinned, looking at where the sword was and where Ansem was. He stepped back a couple of paces and broke into an all-out sprint. He jumped off the ground and flew into the air, so that he was level with Ansem. He smashed Ansem on the top of the head with Vortex's hilt and sent the Heartless tumbling through the air, headed straight for the sword.

The Guardian warped in front of Ansem to take the blow. The Heartless collided with the sword and Ansem landed on top of the Heartless. He rolled off and stood up on his own two feet. The Guardian got off the sword and pulled it out of the sand. It grabbed the hilt and swung it, a broad smile parting its lips.

"This can't end well." Kevin muttered.

* * *

Ashlee ducked under the axe and threw a pale blue fire at Axdrane. Tom ran up behind the Heartless and hit her in the side with a giant stone club. Axdrane stumbled backwards, tripping over her black dress.

"Fuck, this thing keeps getting in the way!" She shouted. Tom's face turned an unhealthy shade of red as a loud ripping noise came from Axdrane's direction and Ashlee sighed, looking away with a frown.

She looked at the two Nobodys. "What the hell is your guys' problem? I have a nifty little combat suit underneath this dress. Sorry if I'm not like a bikini babe or Ivy or something."

Tom looked back and saw Axdrane in a tight black suit (within reason, folks). _That doesn't help much._ He thought, wiping his nose.

Ashlee looked over at Tom, scowling. "Do you want to sit down?" She asked.

Tom shook his head. "Nah, I'm good."

"Are you sure? Your upper lip is still a tad red. You may want to get that checked out."

He brushed his nose again. "How high up are we, exactly?"

Axdrane looked walked over to the edge and looked over. "Quite high, why?" She screamed as the rock under her crumbled and she fell off.

Ashlee looked over at Tom, whose hand was resting on the ground. "Good job there, Tom." She said. He gave her a thumbs up.

Tom started sweating. "Oh my crap, they jiggled." Ashlee glared at him and walked over to him. She punched him in the jaw and yelled a few profanities.

The pillar started shaking and a screech filled the area. A large, thin leg came up. It scraped along the stone and pulled the body of the creature up. Tom and Ashlee paled. "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA" Tom began cackling and Ashlee looked like she was on the verge of fainting.

From the back of the giant, black tarantula, Axdrane shouted, "How do you like my pet, Fluffy?"

(A/N: -shiver- does not like spiders)

Tom and Ashlee stopped their façade. "Oh, we don't mind him. It's the sheer size that _bugs_ us out." Tom said, grinning. "Yeah, it's really Kevin that would have shat bricks if he were here. Sorry Fluffy, you don't get a meal, your twit of an owner decided she would make a meal out of the two non-arachnophobia people."

Axdrane began to laugh. She doubled over on the hairy spider's back (still not enjoying this) and yelled, "Do you think I care?" She stood up and swept her hand in front of her and pointed at the two Nobodys. "FLUFFY, CRUSH THEM!"

* * *

Jasmine clenched her teeth as Maxjisne pulled the disk from her side and tossed it into the magma like it was nothing. "Seriously," she said, "do you think a little disk is going to stop me?" She summoned her two swords and dashed at Jasmine. "I think not."

Jasmine ducked and rolled to the right, and shot a ball of fire at Maxjisne. The Heartless turned around just in time to get a face full of fire. She moved back, yelling in pain. When she got far back enough, her eyes snapped open, filled with rage and blue-white flames danced along her swords. She held them very much in the same way a Samurai Nobody would while preparing an attack and ran at Jasmine, fire erupting beneath her feet.

Jasmine ducked out of the way to avoid a swing that would have removed her head and threw her chakram at Maxjisne's back. The Heartless girl screamed in pain and fell face first into the black soot-covered ground. The flames on her swords died out and the arena became eerily quiet.

_Is she dead? No, if she were dead, she would have faded. What's happening?_ As if to answer Jasmine's question, the ground trembled and began to sink into the magma below. Vice ran for Jasmine and wrapped an arm around her waist. "There's no time to stand around, we need to go. NOW!" He leaped up to a rock that was protruding from the side of the volcano, and hopped to the next. He kept doing so until they were at the top. The arena below was gone, with no traces of Maxjisne left behind.

"It's finally over, isn't it?" Jasmine asked.

The entire mountain trembled and the rock under Jasmine was blasted away, Vice was sent flying with the stones while Jasmine plummeted into the volcano below.

* * *

"Okay old man, finally we can talk." Venxik said, stepping out of a portal next to the old man.

He raised an eyebrow at the old man's serene face. "Uh, are you okay there, old fart?" Venxik asked.

The man nodded and opened his eyes. "Yes, just meditating. Now then, Venxik. One of my workers was sent to fetch the hearts of three of your Heartless. Don't worry; they have nothing to do with your remaining two Heartless that remain loyal. I am seeking the hearts of Axdrane, Halixat, Raynx and yourself. But of course, getting your heart would be nigh on impossible."

He stood up. "No, since it would be suicide to try and rob you of your heart, I am merely going to ask you questions. What interests me is how you have been able to amass a group of Heartless that were able to retain a human form. Were their hearts really that powerful? Or do you have some sort of clever trick? From what my sources tell me, these Nobodys put up a good fight for their right to keep their hearts, and three of them are now Keybearers, with another showing promise. Now then, explain."

Venxik looked at the old man thoughtfully. "I will answer your questions once you answer mine. Who are you and how were you able to inhabit a Heartless if you are a Nobody?"

The man chuckled. "I have been found out already? It's no surprise; even a mentally slow Shadow would have been able to see that I am not a Heartless or a human. Who I am will remain secret and I will reveal my identity when need be. As for living in a Heartless, it is my natural ability to control darkness, even if it's given form, such as that of a Heartless. Of course, my power comes with its limits. If the darkness is more powerful than my own, I will be shunned from the host. Rould was weak and well within my area of control. I inhabited him in order to learn the secrets of the Heartless, and used him to cause random tragedies by wielding his time manipulating powers. When he found out about me, I decided to make a pact, at which point two young Nobodys appeared before me. I took them under my wing and made them do various things for me, such as destroying worlds."

Venxik nodded. "Go on." He said. The man chuckled at Venxik's interest and did so. "Well, the two Nobodys are those of two of your Heartless that are under your control. A boy and a girl. One of them is the Nobody of that young man that delivered the message to you, and the other was the Nobody of that young lady that is going to lose her life soon. Now, I believe you have an answer of your own to give me." The old man said.

Venxik leaned back and said, "Oh yeah, that. Well, I have nothing special. No tricks or anything. I just steal a heart. If it's strong at the time, a human shaped Heartless will be formed. If the person's will is strong, a human shaped Nobody will be formed. Simple as that. I just got lucky with my findings."

The man nodded. "I see. Thank you Venxik, I will be on my way." The man opened a portal and walked through it, leaving Venxik behind.

"Well, that was boring."

* * *

Kevin jumped out of the way of the broadsword and felt at his waist, feeling the hilt of the sword Leon gave him. He threw the sheath with the sword inside at Xunahs and yelled, "Take it!" Xunahs grabbed it and unsheathed it. Xunahs dashed at the Guardian and brought the sword down on the Heartless' wrist. It merely flicked Xunahs away and began advancing on Kevin and Tahlia.

Xunahs landed on the sand and charged back at the large Heartless. "GIVE ME MY SWORD BACK, YOU OVERGROWN TWIT!" He roared and lunged at the Heartless.

It was unaffected by his tackle and threw him away. Xunahs landed in front of Tahlia and Kevin, who helped him back up. "Obviously attacking that thing won't work." Kevin said, grinning at Xunahs. "So, we should try going for the Heartless behind the Heartless. Tahl'll distract the Guardian while you two take on Ansem." Tahlia nodded. "Okay, doesn't seem too hard, the thing is a big, lumbering Heartless with a sword that means it's compensating for something which it lacks." She glanced at Xunahs sheepishly. "Sorry."

"Meh, it's okay. I have had worse." He replied, smiling. The three turned to face their enemy and Tahlia threw her kunai at the Guardian's head. It blocked the weapons, giving Xunahs and Kevin enough time to get around it and at Ansem. The two reached him and swung their swords at him. Ansem floated backwards from the attack and shot beams of energy at the two. Kevin cried in pain as the beam cut into his shoulder and Xunahs barely got out of the way of the beam targeted at his heart.

"Xunahs, I will make you return to the darkness from whence you came. These two Nobodys will be torn asunder and their remnants sent back to the abyss. Join us again and I will at least make their journey… pleasant." Xunahs looked up at Ansem. "A bit quick to jump the gun, aren't we? As the villain, it is your job to give us the deals just before you lose."

"Who said anything about my loss? No, actually, I believe it is your loss that you should worry about." At that very moment, Tahlia let a strangled cry as the Guardian found its mark.

"Oh, really?" Ansem spun around, only to have Vortex enter his chest. The Guardian let out a silent roar and released its death grip on Tahlia before disappearing and reappearing protectively in front of Ansem, ripping the Keyblade from its master's chest. Kevin was flung back and Ansem staggered off through a portal.

Kevin and Xunahs rushed to Tahlia's side. Kevin inspected Tahlia's wounds and placed his hand over her throat and mouthed out "Waise heill". Tahlia gasped as the magic forced open her windpipe and she sat back up.

She looked up at Kevin. "Thanks." Her eyes widened as Kevin wobbled over to the side. She and Xunahs held him up. "Are you okay?"

Kevin nodded weakly, the spell draining a lot of energy out of him. Tahlia's eyes widened as she realized the wound in his arm was still open and bleeding. The ground shook violently and Tahlia was thrown off her feet, Kevin following close behind. She quickly got back onto her knees and supported Kevin. Xunahs raised his head as he looked at the crater that had formed where the trees are. "Ansem's there." He looked over at Tahlia and Kevin and frowned. "Tahl, can you stay here with Kevin and make sure he doesn't get hurt?" Before Tahlia could say, "No, you're a macho idiot for running on ahead", Xunahs ran for the crater and jumped in after picking up his discarded broadsword.

* * *

Tom got under the charging tarantula and broke one of its massive legs with a stone-covered fist. Ashlee dashed along the left flank and sliced off three of its legs, unbalancing the spider and making it topple over, throwing Axdrane off. It disappeared and the Heartless landed on the ground. She clenched her fists and summoned two large axes that stayed in her hands. "The two of you have made fools of me for the last time." She spat.

She dashed at the two, her axes dragging along the ground, making noticeable grooves in the stone pillar. She spun and threw one of the axes at Tom, who ducked under and collapsed his stone fist, firing the sharp stones at her. She blocked them all with her axe and she jumped in the air, flipped once, twice and landed on the ground, smashing her axe into it.

A loud, deafening crack met the two Nobodys' ears and the ground trembled. The two stumbled backwards as the section of the pillar they were on gave way and they fell with the slab of stone. Axdrane leaped off the edge and smashed her axe into the stone yet again, completely crumbling it. She warped back up top to watch her handiwork with a satisfied grin. She winced as she heard the sound of a portal opening and two bodies colliding with the ground, as well as the quiet footsteps of a girl following them.

Axdrane spun around to face the new person and smiled. "Oh, so it's you." The Nobody walked up to her and smiled. "Why yes, me. The one and only me there could possibly ever be." An energy spear appeared in her hands. "Do you think that you could take me on, Axdrane? After all, I am the queen of the Nobodys, Gabrielle."

Axdrane spun her axes, smiling widely. "Royalty doesn't mean power, Gabby." Gabrielle vanished and reappeared behind Axdrane, getting ready to impale her with the spear. "Nor does having huge ass axes, but it does help boost the intimidation factor. But really, those things are slow."

Axdrane chuckled and stepped forward, away from Gabrielle and turned around, replacing the axes with a foil (a type of sword, google/wiki it). She ran at Gabrielle and thrust the small sword at the Nobody leader. Gabrielle parried it with her spear and smiled sweetly as a wall of magic cubes appeared behind Axdrane and each cube rammed into her back. Axdrane let out a choked gasp as she fell forwards and hit the ground with a soft _thud_.

The Heartless sank into the ground and appeared in between Ashlee and Tom, who were struggling back onto their feet. She was about to jab Ashlee in the forehead when Gabrielle pushed her out of the way, taking the hit in her head. She fell over and looked up at Ashlee. "Sorry I couldn't stick around, I am giving you leadership of the Sorcerers, they need a leader and you would be the best bet from my research." She faded and Ashlee looked at the spot in stunned silence.

Tom glared at Axdrane and whispered, "That is the third life you have taken away from me before my eyes. I have had enough of this."

Axdrane looked at him quizzically, as did Ashlee. "Third? I killed those two annoying Nobody Leaders in front of you and… Wait a sec, you're Tom, right?" He nodded, glaring at her. "Ahah! So that means you are the one that was with that Lochit girl when I went all off-with-her-head on her neck!"

Tom roared and lunged at the Heartless, mercilessly beating on her with stone-covered fists.

After Axdrane stopped flailing madly to remove the Nobody, Ashlee started screaming and tried to pull Tom off of the still Heartless. Finally, she yanked him off and slapped him hard across the face. She nearly vomited at what had become of Axdrane's head and looked away. The area around them suddenly got cold and a girl wearing a silver mask and tight, white clothes that seemed very familiar to Ashlee stepped out of thin air.

She walked over to Axdrane and looked over at the two Nobodys. "Wow, one of you really did a number on that girl." She said in a businesslike way. She held her hand out and an ice spear came out of nowhere and she grabbed it deftly with her right hand, while pulling a clear jar out of the bag from her side. She stabbed the spear into Axdrane's chest and twisted. The spear exploded and the ice crystals fell over the body. The pink heart floated unsurely out of Axdrane's chest and the mysterious woman trapped it in the jar.

Much to the surprise of Ashlee and Tom, the heart did not escape, but simply stayed put in its glass prison. She stomped on the body with the heel of her white shoes and disappeared, leaving a few ice crystals and a small pile of snow behind.

The two jumped up as the pillar began to crumble and a portal opened. Someone from the other side shouted, "Come quickly, without its mistress, the world won't survive much longer and you'll go with it!" Ashlee and Tom ran through it and the portal closed, just as the area broke up and everything returned to the abyss.

* * *

Jasmine landed harshly on the hard ground below. The small island in the lava lake was still there and it was as hot as ever. Jasmine stood up and looked around. She was alone, but something wasn't right. She looked up, hoping to find something, but only saw the swirling smoke from the burning and melting rock. An ember floated by her in the artificial breeze made by the heat and several more followed it. They all clustered together to take on a shape similar to that of a human.

They fell away, revealing Maxjisne in her red sleeveless shirt with the tails at the back and black pants, as well as her scowl. Jasmine scowled back. "Now that I have separated you from the Samurai, things will be easier. I will call him back when I am finished with you."

Jasmine crouched and said, "When you finish with me? Sorry, you won't even be able to get close to me." She ran at Maxjisne and made a sharp turn to the right just in time to avoid a burst of fire. She threw one of her chakrams at the Heartless and continued to run in a circle. Finally, she closed in and stabbed the Heartless in the back.

She jumped back and stretched out her hands, letting the chakrams spin in front of her. She brought her hands together, struggling as if some unseen force was repelling them. When she clasped them together, a red ball appeared in between the two chakrams that began spinning rapidly around them. She pulled her hands away and yelled, "BURN!" The chakrams stopped and flew alongside a large wall of fire that sped towards Maxjisne, making the ground underneath it bubble as it passed.

Maxjisne had nowhere to go and held up her swords to block the attack. The force of the attack pushed her back until she almost fell backwards into the lava.

When the fire was extinguished, Maxjisne dropped her guard and smirked at Jasmine and dismissed her swords. "Well, this is actually pretty amusing." She said, not bothering to contain her glee. She opened her hands and held them at her side. "But, seeing as how I have to be serious now, your death will be assured." She raised her hands and the magma behind her rose up like a fountain. She brought down her hands and laughed as the magma flew through the air at Jasmine.

Jasmine got out of the way of the searing heat and ran as far back as possible. _Shit!_ She nearly fell backwards into the magma behind her and a fine sweat broke out over her brows. _I can't lose, not yet._

She was about to run at Maxjisne, but a girl dressed in white walked out of thin air, right in front of Jasmine. She waved her hand nonchalantly at the magma that was flying at them and it froze right away, becoming obsidian (if magma/lava cools slowly, it becomes and igneous rock known as basalt, if it does so quickly, it becomes obsidian.). She looked over at Jasmine and asked, "Need a hand?" She offered her hand to Jasmine. Jasmine didn't have time to answer, however as the girl withdrew her hand and disappeared from sight, just before a ball of flame hit her. Jasmine ducked under it and watched the girl reappear in front of Maxjisne. A spear of ice appeared in her hand and she thrust it into Maxjisne's chest.

Jasmine gaped as the Heartless fell and a heart began to float away. The girl jumped up and caught it in a jar. She walked over to Jasmine and handed her the jar. "Take this, consider this one a freebie." Jasmine looked at her heart, floating lazily in the jar in front of her eyes. The volcano trembled and Vice appeared in front of her, through a portal. He dragged her through and wound up in an ice filled ballroom.

Jasmine hid the jar in a pocket and walked forwards with Vice. Ashlee and Tom appeared out of nowhere and a girl's voice echoed throughout the room. "Well, I guess my new toys have arrived in fair condition."

* * *

Kevin sat up and watched Xunahs run to the crater. He felt dizzy and fell over. Tahlia glared angrily at him. "You knew full well that this would have happened. How come you helped me?" Kevin laughed and said, "What? Me saving you? I didn't know what had happened, all I knew was that something bad had happened. If I knew that your throat had been collapsed, I would have used another method of opening it up rather than nearly killing myself."

"How did you know to heal me?" She asked. Kevin stared at her with a dull expression. "The fact that you were having trouble breathing was reason enough. Anyways, after some quick diving into your mind, I can bash down two of your thoughts right now."

"One: Healing my wound using the magic I used on you is stupid. You don't know how to control it well enough. I had mentors and stuff, you don't. You'd just burn up your energy and kill yourself. Two: Xunahs is two years older than you, and his heart is after another girl. Sorry about that."

Tahlia glared at him. "You telepaths suck. So, what do you suggest I do about your arm? Think up a suggestion quickly before I decide to poke it." Kevin's aloof gaze didn't change until she summoned a kunai and aimed it like a dart at Kevin's wound. Kevin gulped and took off his shirt and cut off a strip of cloth on the back. He replaced his shirt and said, "Tie this around the wound. That should work."

He lifted his hand from the wound, and winced as Tahlia tied the torn fabric on his wound none too gently. Tahlia stepped back, as if examining her work and asked, "What now?" Kevin looked up at her and asked, "Got food?" She nodded and reached into her pouch and threw an energy bar and a can of pop at Kevin. He caught them both and wolfed down the snack. Tahlia watched in a mix of horror and awe as Kevin ate, mercilessly tearing at the bar and chugging the pop. He put the wrapper and can down and said, "Thanks. I was starved."

"Didn't you have breakfast?" She asked. Kevin shook his head. "No, I am amazed I survived, considering that." He looked at the ground and placed his hand on it. He felt the darkness and came to the realization that everything here was made of darkness, that it wasn't a fragment of the islands. He tried to absorb the darkness into him like he did when he was fighting Rould. He felt the strange coolness of the darkness entering his arm. It felt alive somehow, but very cool. He also felt reinvigorated.

Without thinking, he healed his arm with the same spell he used on Tahlia and realized the wound closed and he had not been fatigued at all by the spell. He looked at the place where the sand was and saw that it was just a small, black pit now. "Weird…" He muttered. Tahlia watched him, the awe being replaced by horror.

Kevin stood up and said, "Well, I guess we had better be off. Xunahs probably needs our help."

"You don't have much faith in him." Tahlia said, remembering Kevin's speech back in Twilight Town. Kevin shook his head. "Don't get me wrong, I have faith in Xunahs, he is strong on his own. I am worried because Ansem is powerful too. Sora fought him in a fight that meant life or death, for the universe. I am not worried because I think Xunahs can't handle himself, I am worried because he is taking on someone that none of us can defeat alone."

Tahlia nodded. "Fine. Who is Xunahs to you?" She asked. Kevin looked down at her quizzically. "Well, I do not feel about him that way; but ever since we were forced to be together at Alagaesia. When I became a prince due to adoption, along with Xunahs, I saw that there was something wrong with him. That he had gone through a lot. He was often depressed, and no matter how rowdy he got to hide that, it shone through. Because I am who I am, I wanted to help him and took the role of big brother. I am glad he got his heart back and he is a human again. We are brothers, and I wouldn't want to have to fight him to the death again."

A single tear rolled down his cheek. "Galbatorix was an evil bastard, he manipulated us and made Xunahs turn against us, tried to use him as a weapon. I liked my time as royalty there, but I can't help but be infuriated at what he did to us. How he made us his own personal hit men. How he used Xunahs to steal the hearts of people that didn't pay their debts. Xunahs didn't mind, he was a Heartless, but it killed me watching him do that. I felt like I failed him somehow as a brother. If I had my heart still when I fought him, I probably would have given up hope after I had gotten away. Being the hero sucks so much. You have to make so many decisions. And it isn't like this was forced onto me. I could have easily told everyone to go fuck a goat and went on my merry way, but I didn't want to, and I don't want to now, either. It's just that it drags me down sometimes. I had my friend die on me, my lifelong friend. I couldn't have protected her and I understand that, but look at everyone else that died. They died by Venxik's hands. _My hands_."

Tahlia looked up at him sadly and patted his arm. "Kevin, think about everyone you met. If it wasn't for what happened, you never would have met all of the friends you made. It must be hard, but let's think about it. You're not the only one that is coping with loss. Ashlee lost her stepfamily and friends; her grandmother's fate is unknown. Tom lost his girlfriend, both of them as well as his family. Jasmine lost her friends and family as well. At least she still has Axel with her. Xunahs had a shitty life up until he met you. You helped him get by that terrible life and made him become a better person. It isn't your fault that he did what nature dictated and hunted people for their hearts. What happened was bad, but none of it is your fault. It doesn't matter if you were the right hand of Heaven or whatever/whoever rules the angels and crap, no single being can take on everything that is thrown at them. That is why people die, that is why people get screwed over and lose everything. It takes a real survivor, a real hero to rise from those ashes and build up from what they have left. Are you going to quit because of something that has happened to you that many others have experienced before?"

Kevin shook his head. "No, you're right. I shouldn't give up. We are so close to the end, and I can't put everyone through that. Thanks Tahlia." He hugged the younger Nobody. "Let go of me, you boob!" She shouted playfully and pushed him off. She looked over at where Xunahs went and said, "Let's go kick Ansem's ass."

* * *

Xunahs blocked the Guardian's punch with his sword and rolled out of the way and threw a dart at Ansem. The Guardian grabbed it and began flailing its arm. It suddenly went limp and Xunahs grinned. He ran past the Guardian and swung his sword at Ansem. The Heartless floated out of the way and tried to punch him. Xunahs ducked and rolled to the right. He jumped back up and slashed the sword up the length of Ansem's arm. The Heartless cried out in pain and backed off, using the Guardian to protect him.

"Oh come now, Xehasnort, are you afraid of losing so badly that you have to hide behind your puppet?" Xunahs asked. Ansem glowered at Xunahs, and then his bleeding arm and the Guardian's limp arm. "No, no I'm not. But, I am afraid I can't fight you as is right now. Sorry, but I must bid you a fond farewell." He waved at Xunahs and disappeared. Xunahs dismissed his sword and waved at Kevin and Tahlia, who were standing at the mouth of the cave. Something was blocking them off. The two of them were waving frantically.

The two looked at each other, and back at Xunahs, and continued waving harder and faster. It quickly turned into flailing. Xunahs looked at them like they were crazy and finally, they began to duck. Xunahs' eyes widened and he ducked, watching a dark blue fist smash into the ground only a few feet in front of him. The ground around the fist became black and Shadows started to come out of the ground.

Xunahs summoned his sword again and sighed. He backed out from under the arm, looking up at the Darkside.

* * *

"Hmhmhm…" Kevin and Tahlia spun around to face the source of the voice. An old man wearing an officer's jacket, looking like a veteran during Remembrance Day stood there. He stood straight and proud, despite his aged appearance. He watched the two Nobodys with crimson eyes and asked, "Two of my kin. Tell me, do you think you're ready for taking on your foes that lie ahead?" He sank into the ground and appeared a few feet back. Several Invisibles appeared in the air around him and he said, "If you think you are ready, show me."

He pointed at Kevin and Tahlia, and roared "Charge!"

The Invisibles rose off the ground and flew at the two Nobodys. Tahlia rolled out of the way and Kevin raised Vortex and yelled, "Thundaga!" Several bolts of lightning fell through the sky, destroying one Invisible and blowing apart sand everywhere else. Tahlia threw her kunai, one going deep in the back of the skulls of one of the Heartless. It vanished and Kevin and Tahlia ran past the Invisibles to the man.

Kevin swung Vortex at the man. The old man simply caught it bare handed and grinned up at him. "Who are you?" He hissed. The man let go of the Keyblade and said, "I am Drake. Oh, you should look out." Kevin spun around and clove one of the Invisibles that were trying to attack him from behind in two. He returned his attention to the old man, only to find that he moved away.

Kevin swore and ran to help Tahlia, who succeeded in planting an electrically charged kunai in the yellow eye of one of the Invisibles. The Heartless exploded and Kevin threw Vortex at one of the Heartless that was trying to attack Tahlia behind. He removed its head with the Keyblade; he jumped into the air and opened his mechanized wings.

Tahlia threw another kunai at one of the Heartless and Kevin landed at her back. "So, how are we doing?" He asked. "Good, we have these four left and we can go talk to the old fart. I'd like to know what his big deal is with him coming in here, all high and mighty, making us fight Heartless. Don't we have enough on our plate as it is?" She whipped her kunai at the Heartless, killing two and Kevin killed the remaining two by slicing one along the middle and punching the other one in the head with the spiked gloves.

* * *

Xunahs rolled out of the way of the black orbs as they chased him around. Just as he was about to smash them aside by his sword, the fist of the giant Heartless hit him hard in the side. He hit the side of the cavern, protruding rocks digging into his spine. He let out a cry of pain and fell onto the ground. Swimming in and out of consciousness.

* * *

Kevin and Tahlia faced Drake, who had a hand to his ear and a wide smile that meant he heard something good. To him at least. He returned his attention to the two Nobodys and said, "Your friend appears to be in trouble." He walked over to the barrier and put his hand up to it. The barrier collapsed after he let out a small grunt of effort and pressed his hand hard against it. He looked over at the two. "Perhaps you should go save him before there's nothing left."

Tahlia ran to help Xunahs and before Kevin followed her, he glared at Drake and said, "When this is over, I want answers." Drake merely chuckled and watched Kevin go in. He lifted his hand and the barrier reformed.

"The boss was definitely right about how strange they are." He turned around and left through a portal.

Kevin ground his teeth. Xunahs was hurt badly. His right arm was crumpled and his wrist was bent the wrong way. Tahlia gasped in horror and looked up at the giant Heartless. "Tahl, can you attract its attention while I deal with Xunahs?" Kevin asked. Tahlia nodded, glaring at the Heartless and ran at it. Kevin turned for Xunahs and sprinted

"Xunahs, you awake?" Kevin asked, kneeling beside Xunahs. Xunahs groaned as his eyes fluttered open and they quickly closed again. Kevin looked at Xunahs' arm and almost threw up. It was badly bruised and looked awful. He ripped off the sleeve and looked at it closer. The arm was definitely in bad shape.

He looked at the wrist, muttered "Sorry, Xunahs" and put it back in place. There was a sickening noise and Xunahs cried out in pain, yet remained unconscious. Kevin then placed a hand on the ground and drew in darkness. He put his other hand over the arm and started healing. The process took about a minute.

"Xunahs let out a forced cough and groaned in pain again. Kevin sighed and thought, _what now?_

_My chest…_ Xunahs answered weakly.

"Are you serious…? Gah, whatever." He ripped open Xunahs' shirt and saw a large bruise on his chest. He once again began the healing process. That was finished and Xunahs began complaining about his back. Kevin swore and rolled Xunahs onto his stomach and removed his brother's shirt completely. There was a large, red mark just below his left shoulder blade and Kevin quickly healed that and propped Xunahs up against the wall. He summoned Vortex and ran to help Tahlia with the Darkside.

* * *

"Test shot!" Venxik yelled from the small room in the machine built for the crystal. Leashex repeated the shout and Venxik punched in coordinates onto the computer screen. He grinned with satisfaction. "Radiant Garden, good bye." He pressed a button, and a thick, purple beam shot from the cannon attached to the device and sped off through the black sky. A small, bright light blinked in the night sky and Venxik grinned. "Perfect."

* * *

Xunahs sat back up. He felt stronger and fully awake and not tired in the slightest. He glowered at his torn shirt and thought; _He could have fixed it, at least._

_I heard that!_ Kevin yelled at him mentally as he hopped away from one of the Shadows to continue his assault on Darkside. Tahlia was already perched on its shoulder, viciously stabbing it in the head with her kunai. Xunahs grumbled and fixed his shirt using a quick spell and slipped it back on. He lifted his broadsword and charged at Darkside.

Xunahs cut a Shadow in half, just as it was about to lunge at Kevin and then impaled the giant Heartless' foot with his sword, pinning the appendage to the ground. "Push it down!" Xunahs yelled, holding the sword down so the Heartless couldn't escape. Tahlia heard the order and jumped from her perch and pinned the other foot. Kevin jumped high into the air and spread open his mechanized wings. He floated back to the barrier and firmly planted his feet on it.

He pushed himself off, and pushed himself along by speeding up the air around him. He tucked his wings in and flipped so that his feet were facing the Heartless. His feet connected with the head of the giant Heartless and it fell backwards. Kevin spread open his wings and summoned Vortex again. He flew around Darkside's head, swinging at the head whenever he got close enough and impaled it between the eyes just as it landed.

Kevin pulled out the Keyblade just as the Heartless vanished. He wiped his brow and said, "That thing was a lot tougher than the one Rould combined with."

"It must be because we are so far in the darkness. Maybe all of the Heartless get stronger, the further in we get." Tahlia said.

"Not only that, we are practically on the front steps of Kingdom Hearts. The Heartless get a boost from that too." Xunahs added.

A part of the cavern gave way, revealing a black tunnel. Kevin looked at the other two and said, "Well. I guess that's our cue to go." He healed everyone and they walked through, becoming swallowed whole by the darkness.

* * *

"I feel like I'm being crushed!" Xunahs gasped. The two Nobodys didn't feel anything except for the faint touch of the darkness surrounding them.

Tahlia looked at Kevin and grabbed Xunahs' arm. "It's because he has a heart! We need to get out of here!" Kevin nodded and grabbed his other arm. They lifted him off the ground (mostly Kevin did, due to Tahlia's lack of height) and sprinted along the tunnel until the crushing feeling was lifted and they were safely standing in mid air.

"How the hell does this work?" Tahlia asked as she prodded the ground experimentally with her foot. Her foot sank down. They were standing up like they were on solid ground.

"Almost two years ago, I was confronted by a Keybearer and his two friends. Once again, I am faced with three urchins. But this time, I will win. You are miles behind Sora. There is no way I can lose. You will sink into the abyss, all of you. Your remnants will be scattered to the winds, and you all will cease to exist."

The 'ground' started shaking and a large, red ship-like thing rose from the darkness. Their eyes widened. The thing was massive! The demonic, snarling face at the bottom of the ship rose from the abyss and faced the three of them. Their stomachs lurched as the laws of physics returned and they plummeted down. Kevin clenched his teeth and wrapped his arms around the waists of his friends and opened his wings. "I should just keep them open. Seriously." He mumbled as they rose above the head. He landed on the fleshy part of the ship. Their feet sank in partly and Tahlia muttered, "This is pleasant." Xunahs nodded, looking sick. They looked up and saw Ansem at the top, shirtless and wearing black armor for his legs. What seemed like tentacles attached him to the Guardian behind him. "That's _really_ pleasant." Tahlia said. Xunahs threw up over the side and Kevin looked like he was getting close to doing the same.

The Guardian spread open its arms and let out a silent roar. A black sphere formed in the air above them, trying to suck them through.

"Sink into the eternal abyss!"

* * *

Axel kicked a pebble. Maleficent was gone. And what remained of the world after everyone left was rubble and houses that were broken down in the panic. A marvelously decorated ship touched down on the ground in front of him and an elegantly dressed man walked from it. Two demons walked along side him. Axel immediately realized who the man was and gasped. "Overlord Zenon!" He backed away slowly and Zenon chuckled.

"What brings you to this backwater human world? It looks bad enough to be a Netherworld! Please, Axel, come with me back to Veldime." Axel's eyes widened. "Veldime? But it was destroyed." Zenon shook his head and chuckled. "No, no. We were merely attacked by that witch. Did she bring you here?" Axel nodded. "Yup, and Adell and Rozalin too." Zenon looked interested. "Oh really, are they still here?" Axel shook his head. "No, they aren't. They were taken to another world for safety."

Zenon nodded thoughtfully. "I see. Do you know where?" "No, sir. Sorry."

Axel cringed as the Overlord ground his teeth. Zenon looked back down at the ex-celebrity. "Usagi disappeared in the last wave of attacks. We fear the worst. How would you like to take his place as news anchor? You will get a chance at love and fame from your adoring fans. I want you to disperse this rumor of my existence and try to establish morale in the demons fighting back the Heartless."

Axel's eyes glistened. "Yes sir! I would love to! But wait a sec, do you control the news station?" Zenon nodded. "In a way. Being the Overlord does allow me to nudge people into any position of my choosing."

"That is so AWESOME!" Axel shouted. He almost grabbed Zenon in a hug, but quickly stopped. _Finally, after a long time of being nobody, I can be somebody!_ He skipped onto the ship and the two demons at Zenon's side looked at each other, shrugged, and followed Zenon onto the ship. The door closed and the ship sped off.

A few minutes later, Axel watched in awe as a thick, dark purple laser hit the ground and cut through the world. It fell apart and a large heart flew up and away.

* * *

Author's Note: It's… ALMOST OVER NINE THOUSAAAND! Now then, I have a question to the people that are reading and/or reviewing my story, do you believe I should cut down on the word count a bit, or that I should keep it the same, or even bump it up? Input is good. I am not entirely, 100 percent sure that it will remain at such a high word count, but I guess changes can be made. (Why yes, leaving input does involve logging on and dropping a PM/review).

Also, as for plans on after this is over. The fight against Venxik will be dragged on to a sequel. I just feel that the chapter count will be too high. Before, I was expecting a healthy sixty, but I quickly realized that goal would have been impossible unless I wanted I cut a lot of crap out. So, I am going to do a sequel that involves the end of Venxik instead of squeezing it all into here.

After the fight with Raynx has concluded, I decided to make an epilogue that will have some things in it. Such as the epilogue itself for certain people, as well as more in depth character bios. These character bios will be given to more important characters rather than the world ones. So that would mean the Heartless, the protagonists and some of the secondary OCs (such as Rose). Also, once this is wrapped up, I plan on re-doing the Inkheart world to A: fit with the third book (which I am in the middle of reading) and B: to make it make more sense and less randomized. Anyways, Happy New Year to everyone and such and a sucky going back to school for our fellow students.

Also, I plan on having a one-month hiatus after the epilogue, depending on how long the re-doing of the Inkheart world does. If it takes like a week or something, the hiatus will be one month. If it takes that whole month or more, I will just wait for the Inkheart stuff to be over and then give it a week before I post the sequel.

(Btw, it's over nine thousand.)

PS: Angsty Kevin, while random was not without its purpose. Said purpose will be revealed in chapter 41.


	41. The End, Part Two

Chapter Forty-One: The End: Part Two

* * *

Vice looked over at Tom and Ashlee. "Where's Gabrielle?" He asked. Ashlee looked at the Samurai and back over at Tom, who looked at her. "Axdrane got her. Gabrielle protected me and died for it." She said finally.

Vice's back tensed for a moment and he gave a shuddering sigh. "I understand. She went out a hero, that's all that matters." He walked briskly past the two Nobodys and inspected the room they were in. It was a large, ice covered bedroom. Like one that a queen would live in. He looked around, trying to find the source of the voice and quickly gave up.

"You liked her, don't you?" Ashlee asked. Vice, with his back turned, shook his head slowly. "Once upon a time." A small laugh filled the room and Vice looked up and found the source of the voice.

"Okay Xochitl, fine, come out and fight." A wind blew around the room and a girl stepped out of a fine mist and walked majestically up to them. She pounded the butt of her ice staff on the ground and smiled as they became trapped in a cage made from ice bars.

She walked up to Tom and held his chin gingerly in her icy palm. "Well, sweetheart, it's been a while, hasn't it? Almost a year since we parted ways. I am happy that you came by. I finished cleaning Somaxth's clock, and I still want to kick some more male ass."

Tom glared at her, and tried to break through the ice by punching it. That didn't work; neither did kicking or even lunging at it to break it down. "Let me out, Xochitl." He said. "Let us all out."

"Oh and why would I do that? So I can get teamed up on by three incompetent Nobodys and a half decent threat? I don't think so." She blew a kiss at him and walked away. _That isn't like Lochit at all…_ Tom thought to himself. _Even as a human, she wasn't as… Flirtatious as her Heartless is being right now._

He tried to find some sort of earth to use. There was nothing around him. Just ice and the air. He looked over at Vice, Jasmine and Ashlee and back at Xochitl, who was spinning whimsically and humming a soft tune. _Not like her at all._

"Why so happy there, Xochitl?" Ashlee asked. Xochitl stopped her spinning and smiled at her captives. "Simple really, I am just happy that I had three triumphs today. One: I beat up Somaxth. Two: I bested Maxjisne and Axdrane in one fell swoop by imprisoning their killers. Finally: I am happy because this means mine and Raynx' ideals can be fulfilled and things can be okay with the universe."

_Okay, that is a bit more like Lochit_. He thought. "What happened?" Tom asked.

Xochitl smiled at him. "Oh, nothing happened to me whatsoever. Is it too much for someone to be happy about being the victor?"

Ashlee and Vice cut down the bars of the cell with their blazing weapons and stepped out. Maxjisne melted hers and Tom's bars and they too, stepped out. Tom tried to summon, but grimaced when he remembered that there was no earth or stone for him to manipulate. He crouched. _Oh well, if I can't swing around a weapon, then I will have to stick to my bare hands._ Jasmine summoned the chakrams and Vice and Ashlee held their swords ready.

Xochitl sighed. "Don't you four get it? I am the master here. No one could hope to stop me. I could even freeze the moisture in the air, or the liquid in your bodies. Doesn't that sound pleasant?"

Jasmine shook her head. "Nope, not really. But if you are going to freeze us all with ice, I guess I can melt it all with fire!" She threw her chakrams at Xochitl. The Heartless quickly sidestepped the weapons and Jasmine skidded along the slick ice, speeding up her dash. She grabbed the chakrams and threw them at Xochitl once again. The Heartless dodged barely and the two began to circle one another, doing their best to avoid getting hit.

"Don't you remember, Xochitl? Back when you tried to take my heart eight months ago? I nearly killed you back there. That was eight months ago, I have only gotten better." She held her hands out in front of her and two jets of flame arched through the air at the Heartless and fell on the ice. Steam billowed up and condensed, falling back down as rain.

"And didn't I just finish explaining that I was a god here?" Jasmine spun away from a spike that shot from the ground and threw her chakram at Xochitl. The Heartless ducked under it and spun around, smacking Vice in the side of the head with her staff. She ran at the leader and began to fight him.

_There's too many of them here._ She thought as she ducked and punched Tom in the chest and quickly grabbed Ashlee's arm and threw her at Jasmine, who was just about to throw another one of her chakrams. She continued her assault on Vice. _I can't take on all four of them. Ashlee, Jasmine and Vice all can use fire in one way or another, and Tom can still fight without a weapon._

She jumped away from Vice and landed on Ashlee, who was attempting a sneak attack. "I just need to split you guys up." She said.

She sank into the floor and it began to tremble. There were several loud cracks and icicles hanging from the ceiling fell down at lethal speeds.

When the tremors finished, everyone got back up, unharmed and saw that the room was spread into four different segments. Each part was at too far away from the others to make the gap.

"Well, God damn." Jasmine whispered.

* * *

The ball of darkness that floated in the air above their heads. Kevin and everyone else ran for cover under the giant ramps protruding from the centre of the World of Chaos. Kevin let out a surprised shout as he got sucked out from under his hiding place. He let out a long string of profanities as his shoes were sucked off and went into the giant floating orb.

He was slowly losing his grip and he noticed that Tahlia and Xunahs were being dragged out of their hiding places. His jeans began to slip and he grabbed them with his left hand and wrapped his right arm around the ramp so that he stayed on.

Just before he was going to let out another string of profanities, the ball exploded and the three landed back down. Kevin landed gingerly on his feet. Tahlia and Xunahs got up and checked for damage. Everyone was okay. Except Xunahs, who had lost both his shoes and socks.

Kevin opened his wings and picked up Xunahs and Tahlia. "To make things easier, let's try flying up there." They nodded and were yanked upwards towards Ansem. Kevin dropped them on the solid ground just below Ansem and Kevin let out a low whistle. "Well damn, this is going to be hard."

Ansem glared down at the three. "So, you survived." He muttered. He lowered himself so that he was standing in front of him. Kevin almost squeaked, seeing Ansem had grown at least three more feet, making him tower above the previously taller Nobody. "Now then, prepare to die."

He summoned a double bladed polearm. It was made from two identical swords. Kevin looked at them thoughtfully, and he quickly realized that they matched the description of Riku's Soul Eater sword he had told them about.

Kevin ducked under the weapon as it flew over his head and Xunahs tried to block it, but was knocked back by the force of the blow.

"All shall be extinct." Several white circles started floating around them. Kevin looked at one closely and saw it start to glow brightly. He jumped out of the way as a thin beam of energy shot out and through the ship. The beams followed him, Tahlia and Xunahs around as they tried to avoid the beams. Finally, they stopped and Ansem, floating with his arms folded across his chest said, "Be gone."

The Guardian's arms opened and it swung them forwards, creating a strong gust of wind that blew everyone back. They flew through the darkness. Tahlia and Xunahs disappeared, screaming for help. Kevin was about to help him when the wind stopped, but a barrier blocked him off. "Do not bother. You cannot rescue them. They are now at the mercy of the darkness."

Kevin turned to face Ansem and opened his wings. He summoned Vortex and let out a snarl. "Open that barrier, damn it!" Thunder roared in the darkness and several bolts of lightning surrounded Kevin. When they cleared, Kevin was standing in his yellow and black jacket. Both Keyblades were in his hands, glowing in reaction to Kevin's anger.

_This anger feels... So real._ A voice said from deep inside Kevin's mind.

He brushed the voice away and flew at Ansem. He brought Vortex down on the Heartless' polearm and swung the other Keyblade at his side. Ansem cried out as the Keyblade made contact and Kevin continued his assault. "I will keep beating on you until you bring them back." He snarled.

Kevin swung around Ansem as one of the Guardian's fists tried to knock him away and Kevin severed the cables attaching Ansem to the ship.

_He truly is furious._ Ansem thought. _Could it be because of how close he is to Kingdom Hearts? That makes no sense, though._

He landed on the ground and wobbled slightly. He stood up straight again and held the polearm out defiantly. "I will make you surrender to the darkness one way or another."

* * *

Xochitl appeared in front of Tom and stabbed outwards with a dagger made of ice. Tom ducked under and grabbed Xochitl by the arm. He flipped her over his should and watched her fly into the wall. She shattered and Tom blinked. _How the hell did that happen?_

Tom noticed, across the gap that Xochitl had started her assault on Vice. And then Ashlee, and finally Jasmine. "Well, that the _hell._" He said, tilting his head to the right.

A girl stepped out from the air next to him. A few shards of ice falling around her. "Raynx and Halixat have been locked off from me. It is a shame, really. It looks like the others need to be beat. I don't know why they would pull off such a video game cliché as that, but oh well. I suppose you just work with what you have." She brought out another ice spear.

"Well, why don't you go help the others?" Tom asked. The girl looked at him and smiled through her mask. "Pretty simple, actually. She is the Heartless of your girlfriend, right? Well, perhaps she wants you gone, just in case it would cause her light, her human side to break through and do something that could hinder her plans. Such as dancing whimsically or humming a soft tune. If you're gone, her light will have nothing left to hold onto, and she will be just that much more dominant. Her acting like a boob was her light's way of reaching out to you. She wants to be let out. Since you don't have a Keyblade, unlike Ashlee or Kevin, or even King Mickey, you need someone with it. Or someone with a prototype copy of a Keyblade." She opened a large portal and a rock the size of a garbage can fell through. "Also, you need a weapon."

Tom looked at it and grinned. "Oh, this is perfect." He began to rip pieces off and stuffed them into pockets in his clothes and then made the rest fit over his fist and made armor.

"Okay, Xochitl. Come out."

Vice looked around. Xochitl, the real one was nowhere, but there were at least twelve copies of her surrounding him. He warped behind one of the copies and sliced it in half and made short work of the others. They just kept coming from the ice, though. And with each one, a section of the ice disappeared. _She is planning on making me die either way._ His eyes widened as he became encased in ice.

The clones stopped moving and sank back into the ground and Xochitl walked up in front of him. Grinning madly at the Nobody that was encased in ice up to his head. Xochitl watched, the smile never leaving her lips even once the ice fully covered Vice's head. Xochitl held her hand out and waved it. "Scatter." The ice prison collapsed and the fragments, along with what was left of Vice, disintegrated, leaving nothing left.

"Child's play. Now, for Tom." She jumped the gap and started her fight with him and the girl. Ashlee dismissed Corona and made her fiery whips. She began slicing through the clones with ease and made many of them leave with loud profanities or other insults, mainly insults that were Spanish or French.

"This is getting boring, seriously." Ashlee sighed and continued her attack.

Jasmine faced the same problem. "Xochitl is a joke." She concluded after obliterating her fortieth clone. "I wonder how many Ashlee, Vice and Tom got."

_I got fifty five, Jasmine. How many do you have?_ Jasmine's teeth clenched and she said, _fifty six... HAH!_ She tried to find Vice's mind and realized he was gone. _Vice seems to have disappeared._ She told Ashlee. She felt the worry come from the other girl and felt that it would be a good idea to check on Tom. _Tom? How goes it?_

_Xochitl is how 'goes it'. Seriously, let me work._

_And Tom has the real deal._ Jasmine told Ashlee.

_Nifty._ Jasmine sighed as she finally cut down her fifty fifth clone. _Yes, nifty indeed. Clone count?_

_Sixty six._ "GOD DAMNIT!" She began to throw the chakrams rather than punch the crap out of the clones. And grinned with the realization of how effective it was. _Of course it's effective, you twit. They are for throwing. Got it memorized?_ Jasmine nearly screamed at the use of the dreaded catchphrase. She then vented her frustration by pulverising more icy clones.

Tom ducked the swing made by Xochitl's staff and tried to punch her in the chest. She disappeared and changed her target to the girl. She blocked and tried to stab Xochitl with the spear. The Heartless dodged that and resumed her attack on Tom.

"This is going nowhere." The girl said under her breath.

She dashed at Xochitl and kicked her in the side, knocking the Heartless into the ground. Xochitl smiled up at her and began to sink in. "Oh no you don't." The girl whispered. She put her fist on the floor and pushed down. She brought it up and punched the icy ground. It shattered and Xochitl's anguished scream echoed throughout the room. The segments of the room drifted back together and Xochitl's heart floated up. At that precise moment, the girl's cell phone rang. She picked it and let out an exasperated sigh.

"What boss? Grab Xochitl's heart too? Who do you think I am, I can't just go willy-nilly, collecting hearts! Yes, I have three spare jars... Oh for eff's sake. Fine!" She was about to snap the cell phone shut, but Tom grabbed it before she could. He put the phone to his ear and asked, "Who is this?"

A laugh filled his ear and he dropped it and staggered back. The girl picked it up and put it next to her ear. "Sorry about that boss." She sighed again and handed Tom back the phone. "It's for you."

"Hello Tom, I assume you've been having fun? Don't worry, I am not done yet." The man said. Tom gasped and almost dropped the phone. "You? No way! You're..."

"Nope, sorry. I can't allow that right now, Tom." The person said over the phone. "Vince, please take care of it." Tom heard a muffled "Yessir." In the background and suddenly, his head blossomed with pain. He dropped the phone and clutched his head in pain. He let out a loud scream and finally, the pain left completely.

The girl picked up the phone, unaffected by Tom's sudden outburst and left after quickly collecting Xochitl's heart.

* * *

"I took care of it. Everything from that phone conversation was rubbed from his memory." Vince bowed to his superior.

"Everything prior?"

"Completely intact."

"Thank you."

Vince turned around and left. The man turned to face Vince and said, "Remember that you are only to bring her back here if she is in danger. If there is no immediate threat, return here immediately. If you run into Drake, tell him his part is over. If either of them resist, use force."

Vince nodded. "Understood."

* * *

"Well, Halixat, I must admit that I like what you've done with the place." The girl walked through the graveyard. "The fog and tombstones are a nice touch. I guess you are a bit goth, nothing like your Nobody or human self."

The girl saw a shadow run through the fog out of the corner of her eye, but continued walking as if she saw nothing. "Goth? Don't be such a kidder. Raynx and I have been keeping a close eye on you guys, you know as much about us as we almost know about you. I admit, grudgingly that your leader's identity as well as your own remains hidden. But the both of you are very impressive for having been able to wrangle up such a powerful group of Nobodys. Organization XIII would be proud."

"Yes, I guess you are right about the whole us knowing stuff about you." The girl said, continuing her walk. "Such as your ability. You have the ability to summon the Dead to do your bidding."

"Yeah, I do. What of it? A Dead Hand here, a few Shadow Hands there. A nice handful of Mordicants, and I get to watch an entire world crumble in a decade. Give or take a year, I prefer to use lesser Heartless, as much fun as it is to watch people scream in fear of the risen corpses hunting them down, I still like the dismay people ooze when their hearts are taken. For some reason, losing your humanity is more terrifying than losing your life. I will never get humans, really." Halixat said.

"You and me both, Halley. Mind if I call you that? It sounds better than Howiztat."

"Call me whatever you want, you will have all eternity to do it." Halixat said from the fog. There was a hum and the gravestone behind the girl trembled. Two skeletal hands shot up from the ground and grabbed her by the ankles and started to drag the Nobody downwards.

Halixat stepped from the fog and smiled at the girl. "Well, your first mistake was stopping." She said. "Your second mistake was stopping on top of a grave. Now then, let's see who hides under that little mask of yours." She reached down and the girl vanished in a puff of ice crystals and Halixat froze, feeling something cold tap the back of her neck. "And your first mistake was thinking you won." The girl said.

She thrust the spear forwards. It impaled Halixat's neck and Halixat let out a silent cough. She desperately tried to remove the spear from her neck. She tried tugging, but it was stuck firmly in place, frozen to the inside of her throat. She became dizzy from lack of oxygen and fell to her knees. Her eyes clouded over and she faded.

The girl watched with mild annoyance and picked up the mask that had been dropped prior to her vanishing act. She put it back on over her tan face and said, "That was close. My identity being revealed could compromise the mission. And, I lost the last spear we had."

Vince stepped out from behind a tombstone shaped like a cross. He was wearing a long, black robe, like the one of Death itself. "Reina, you are to head back." Vince said, leaning against the tombstone.

"Hey, you know full well that my time isn't up yet!" Reina said angrily.

"That isn't why. You lost your last heart stealing weapon. I can handle it from here." He summoned a large scythe. Runes ran down the length of its black pole and decorated the silver blade. They began to glow crimson and he said, "I was ordered to use force if either one of you resist, Reina. I would much rather not, especially not against my superior and second in command."

Reina sighed. "Fine. But if you screw up on this, newbie, you will never hear the end of it." She disappeared and Vince smiled. He removed the hood, revealing medium-long platinum blond hair, a slightly pale face and two green eyes. "Oh, don't worry about it, Reina. I won't fail."

He opened a portal and left.

* * *

Raynx watched as a portal opened in front of him and Halixat stumbled out, pale and panting heavily. She was clutching at her throat and Raynx quickly healed it with a Cure spell.

"Thanks." She gasped. She plopped down on Raynx' chair and said, "That girl is tough. Those Nobodys are good at flying under the radar."

Raynx nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, they are. I am not surprised by that girl's process through the others. She easily tossed Maxjisne and Xochitl aside like they were nothing.

"Yes, you're right." Halixat said. "And she made quick work of me too. She walked into that trap to lure me out."

"Indeed. They are crafty, I will give them that much. What are their numbers?"

Halixat looked up thoughtfully. "There is their leader, the girl and the old fart."

"Yes, the leader, I don't know who he is. The girl is Reina, second in command, the 'old fart' is Drake and they have a fourth member who is named Vince."

"What do you think our odds are of getting out of this?"

"If Reina was still in the picture, things would be bleak, but she changed positions with Vince. Perhaps with the change, our job will become more manageable and we will be able to come on top."

"What about the other Nobodys, Kevin and them?"

"They will be nothing. Also, I have another job for you. It is simple and should be very doable."

* * *

"How about you shut the hell up!" Kevin yelled as he attacked Ansem again. This time, the Heartless parried all of the attacks, not letting Kevin get in a single, decent hit. The Guardian's arms picked up and threw Kevin away. When Kevin stopped he dashed back at Ansem to continue his assault, but stopped dead in his tracks when he ran into Xunahs and Tahlia, who were being suspended in cocoons above ground.

The fleshy shells pulsated like heartbeats and the clothes and hair of the two teens drifted slightly with the pulses.

"I am giving them a gift." Ansem said. "I am turning them into weapons, filling them with darkness. They will become killing machines, built for the sole purpose of murder. If I die, their prisons will explode them along with it. They will be killed, and so will you in the explosion."

"Even so, they aren't very safe in there, either. Each attack that is made against me weakens them. If I take enough hits, they will simply wither away and will be disintegrated."

Kevin stood there and watched Xunahs and Tahlia. Ansem stepped back. "I will allow you the chance to say your good-byes to your friends."

_Xunahs!_

_...Kevin?_

_Oh, thank God. Okay, tell me, do you know where you are?_

_No, all I can tell you is that my boxers are sticking to me in uncomfortable places._

_...Uh, okay. Thanks for that. Anyways, try moving your hands._

Kevin watched Xunahs' right hand jerk slightly.

_It's hard. I can't move my body much. Sorry. Every damned muscle in my body is tensed. I can feel liquid all around me and for some reason, my body feels tense because of it._

Kevin looked at Tahlia thoughtfully. Her eyes fluttered lightly and her cheeks turned a slight pink. _Xunahs, what do you mean by 'every muscle in my body is tensed'?_ Tahlia asked mentally. Kevin almost choked on his spit from the question.

_Oh, you know. Like when my body is tensed up, ready to fight or run. Most definitely not what you're thinking about_.

_Okay, good. Because I was worried there. _Tahlia replied.

_Back to my plan. _Kevin said. _Xunahs and Tahlia, can you summon your weapons?_

A slight light filled their containers and Xunahs' broadsword appeared over top of him, pushing on the edge of the bubble. Kunai surrounded Tahlia and Ansem's eyebrow raised with interest.

_I see. Okay, I have a plan._ Kevin held his hands out in front of him and focused on the liquid. Slowly, he made the liquid around the hilt of Xunahs' sword denser and pushed the sword upwards with it. The sword burst through the container. Xunahs fell out, coughing and spluttering, the green dye in his hair was washed away, revealing his natural, light yellow hair. Kevin quickly went to work on Tahlia's kunai while Ansem was coming to the realization of what was happening.

Tahlia fell out of her pod. She stood up and helped Xunahs to his feet. Kevin nodded at them and returned his attention to Ansem.

"Ansem, it's over." Kevin said, pointing Vortex at the Heartless.

"No, it isn't over." He replied, shaking his head.

"Oh, on the contrary. It's _quite_ over." Ansem's eyes widened as something cold and sharp entered his back.

A girl's head popped up over Ansem's shoulder. She looked like Tahlia. "Hiya cutey" She said to Xunahs. The teen looked stupefied and then embarrassed.

"Halixat, you betrayed me. Why?"

"Raynx' orders." She shrugged.

Ansem's eyes widened. "You betrayed us! Raynx needs my research!"

Halixat's brow furrowed and she said, "Perhaps."

She looked down at Kevin. "Who are you?" He asked

Halixat let go of the dagger and leapt over Ansem's back. She landed and dashed at Kevin and ripped Vortex out of his hand and spun around, decapitating Ansem in one fluid motion before dropping the Keyblade and disappearing through a portal.

Kevin picked up Vortex and said, "Guys. We should get going." Tahlia and Xunahs nodded and chased Kevin through the portal.

They appeared in the middle of an icy room and Jasmine, Ashlee and Tom were facing Halixat, who was looking at them with a bored expression. She watched the newly entering heroes slip and fall and waved as they got up.

"Now then, since everyone is here. I have a proposal for all of you: kick Raynx' ass."

She opened a portal and stepped aside. Kevin stepped up and looked at her.

"And how do we know we can trust you?"

She smiled widely. "You can't." She walked into the portal.

Kevin looked at the other five with him. "Are we ready?"

Jasmine shook her head sadly. "I myself would prefer to buy a few megaelixers and to save my game. But oh well."

Kevin let out a soft chuckle. "Anyone else got a witty comment?"

"Nope, I am pretty witted-out, actually." Tom said. "Shall we start going?"

"Yeah! C'mon, I want to get this over with!" Ashlee cried.

"I would like to wipe the floor with Raynx' ass, quite honestly. I'm itching to go." Xunahs spun his broadsword and smiled.

"I wish to feel involved, so I shall say buttersnicket and we shall go on our merry way and get back our friends." Tahlia added, trying her hardest to look serious.

Kevin grinned. "Fine, let's go."

* * *

Author's Note: -grin- Only one more chapter GAIZ! OH MY GAWD.

-cough- Only one more chapter to go, and after that, we get a wonderfully long epilogue that I have already started on. It's going to be a beast and the final chapter will probably be dedicated solely to the final fight with Raynx (most likely)

It feels pretty weird that I am getting close to the conclusion of my first fanfic, y'know?

-fetal position- It looks and feels... So short...


	42. Conclusion

Chapter Forty Two: Conclusion

Raynx sat alone in his room. A large, empty chapel. The walls and floors were dark grey and there were arches high above the ground. At the end of the chapel hall was a large, black throne that Raynx sat in.

"Hiya Raynx, sorry to bug you at this hour, but…" The five Nobodys and Xunahs (third wheel much?) walked through the portal. "I brought you a gift, courtesy of Venxik. Anyways, I must make my leave." Halixat disappeared and Raynx stood up. "Well, I am happy that I have some guests here."

A flash of silver caught his eye and the rune-decorated blade of a scythe was held against his throat. "Some unwelcome, some not?"

Raynx chuckled slightly. "Something like that. However, I doubt any of you are here to offer me chocolates." He walked forwards and through the blade like it wasn't even there. "So, do you really want to fight me?"

Xunahs stepped forward. "Uh... No. We came because we wanted to celebrate Kevin's birthday. Y'know, that kid over there with the Vortex Keyblade. I brought the cake."

"Someone has developed quite a tongue since leaving only two days ago." Raynx said. "You don't have the right to speak."

Kevin held up Vortex. "Xunahs has every right to speak, actually. I am kinda giving him that right as his big brother. Sorry, I can't let the has been take that away from him, now can I? After all, Xunahs is speaking for all of us. Now then, mind if I have some cake?

Raynx raised an eyebrow and chuckled again. The person holding the scythe stepped out from behind Raynx' throne and advanced down the stairs. "You, Xunahs? You are speaking for them? HAH! I didn't think there was anyone in this universe that was more of a good for nothing than you are, but I was proven wrong! Ahahaha!"

Jasmine raised an eyebrow. "From what I've heard, it was you that tried to bring Xunahs back to life. So please do explain how you could hate your own brother so much, only to bring him back to life."

"Silence, you were pitiful as well. If it wasn't for Reina, none of you would have even been here!" Raynx roared.

He dashed at Jasmine and grabbed her by the throat. He swung around several times and threw her at the Nobody that was creeping up from behind. The bigger Nobody was knocked backwards and smashed his head on the stairs leading up to the throne. Jasmine got up and glared at Raynx.

_Damn, he's more powerful than I thought._ She rubbed her throat and helped the fallen Nobody back to his feet. "Hey, you okay?" He nodded slowly. "Good" She gave him a quick pat down and asked, "So, what is a short punk like you doing in a place like this?"

The Nobody quickly put his hood back on. "Name's Vince, I am taking Reina's place."

"Ah, well in that case, I suggest running before I rip your throat out." Jasmine closed her eyes and smiled at him sweetly. A fine sweat broke out on his brow.

"And who says I have to listen to you?" He asked defiantly, and squeakily.

"No one says you do, but if you want to be able to have children, I suggest running away before I decide to beat on you."

"And why should I be afraid of you, huh? For all you know, I could be stronger than Reina, and then what? You would be screwed, that's what! I would kick your ass!"

Jasmine narrowed her eyes. "Try it."

Everyone else watched with interest. Tom leaned his head over to Ashlee and whispered, "Y'know what? I smell puppy love." The two arguing Nobodys turned to him and shouted, "I heard that!"

"How the hell can you stand being with these people?" Raynx asked Xunahs. The teen shrugged. "You get used to the odd antics of these people, especially when you live with Kevin for eight months."

"Why aren't you killing him?" Tahlia whispered to Kevin. "I must uphold the traditions of humour in the middle of a storyline and not partake in physically harmful actions while humour is happening."

"What?"

"No idea."

"Okay, this is enough!" Raynx shouted. He jumped back to his throne and pushed the two bickering Nobodys away. "All of you have just finished wreaking the mood. Not cool at all. I am going to do what I said and wipe the floor with all of you." He summoned his sword, a long, thin black sword. "Well, Dreggan will cut you in half first, but hey, specifics aren't that big of a deal."

"I have to agree, actually." Kevin said, stepping forward so that he was next to Xunahs. "Specifics are unimportant, all that it comes down to is who gets their ass kicked first."

"I like this guy." Raynx said. "He will be the first to go." He disappeared and reappeared in front of Kevin, getting ready to strike with Dreggan. Kevin swung it aside with Vortex and fired a ball of lightning at point-blank range into Raynx' gut.

Raynx was blasted away and landed on his back. Raynx stood up and held his sword out. "Come on, you cowards." He spat.

Everyone split up and began their attacks on Raynx. Tahlia threw kunai while Jasmine and Ashlee used their fire attacks. Kevin, Xunahs and Vince assaulted the Heartless from all angles, avoiding the attacks of the others while dealing painful blows.

Raynx spun around, a large gust of wind blew the three back several yards and he appeared on one of the rafters of the ceiling above. He pointed the tip of his blade at Jasmine and said, "You die."

He leapt from the stone rafter and fell for Jasmine, Dreggan held out to kill. Vince came out of nowhere and tried to block the sword. He gasped as the cold steel went into and through his arm. Raynx looked at the Nobody with a cold gaze.

"How heroic of you. I didn't think the other incompetent fool would show up and play hero. Too bad you can't redeem yourself for the lives you stole. Your final selfless act is wasted, Vince." Vince chuckled.

"The way you're talking, you make it seem like you have some sort of advantage over me." He held out his scythe and rested the blade on the part of his arm just above where Dreggan was. "I really don't mind losing an arm or two for the sake of getting the job done." He winced as the blade sliced his arm off. He choked back a scream and Raynx glared at him. "That was pointless."

"There wasn't much point to it, I agree." Vince cringed.

"But, it did buy me some time." Raynx turned around to face Jasmine. His eyes widened with shock. In her hands were Moon Blade and Sun Blade. She swung Sun Blade at Raynx' head. The Heartless disappeared and tried to stab Jasmine in the back. She twisted around and parried with Moon Blade and began to swing both swords at Raynx.

She swung and stabbed with quick and short attacks, not leaving Raynx any room to do anything other than guard. "You see Raynx," Jasmine said, still holding up her assault "one of the things you did wrong was underestimate us. Most of us went through some intense shit to get here. Even though we lack hearts, our minds are telling us how to feel about a certain thing, and that's how we are able to react to things that happen in the world around us."

Fire erupted around the swords. "So don't go thinking that you are our superior or anything. You are just a kid that's old enough to be in university."

Vince walked back to join the others that were watching Jasmine's show. "She's good." He whispered in awe. Kevin nodded. "Yeah. Oh, let me look at that arm."

He pulled up the sleeve of Vince's robe so that his partially removed arm was visible. Kevin didn't comment on the bleeding stump and immediately sealed off the wound. "Sorry that I couldn't get your arm back. What you did there was reckless, why did you do it?"

Vince coughed as he watched Jasmine fight. He blushed under his hood. "No reason at all." His voice cracked slightly and Tahlia sighed dreamily.

"True love. It's a beautiful thing." Tahlia sighed and Vince stiffened. "I am _not_ in love." He hissed under his breath. Kevin patted his shoulder comfortingly. "Of course not."

Jasmine's attacks started to become quicker and more precise. "I won't let you take everything away from the people of the universe. You are evil, and I will do everything in my power to make sure you are stopped." Raynx stopped blocking Jasmine's assault and his head was removed only a second later.

Jasmine's eyes widened as cold steel rested against her back. "Didn't you know, Jasmine? You guys don't have enough power to beat me. Nor will you ever come close to attaining such strength." He pushed Dreggan forwards; the black blade came out of Jasmine's chest.

Jasmine gagged and spat up blood. If anyone in the room (except Xunahs) had a heart, it would have skipped a beat. Vince ran for Raynx, holding the scythe one-handed with grim determination to sever the Hearthless' head.

Raynx tried to get away, but Jasmine was holding onto his wrist with a vice-like grip. As Vince got close, Raynx ripped his hand away and tried to get away. Just before Raynx could leave, he let out an agonized scream and a pale hand dropped to the floor.

Raynx retreated, glaring at them in disgust as the rest of the people swarmed around Jasmine.

"Air damn it! Give her some air!" Kevin yelled, shooing everyone away. Kevin kept Jasmine standing up. He was frozen in place. _What the fuck do I do? She has a fucking sword going through her chest. WHAT THE FUCK DO I DO?_

Kevin flinched and looked up at Jasmine, who had her hand on his shoulder. _Don't worry about it. I've had worse things than this little flesh wound. Just focus on kicking Raynx' ass so that we can get out of here._

_But Jasmine, you're going to die if we don't do something!_

_And what are you going to do if you can do anything? You can't. It's over for me. I'm glad I met you guys. If it weren't for you guys, I would have been lost and alone. _She gasped and nearly doubled over.

"Jasmine!" Ashlee cried. She helped to keep Jasmine up.

_Sorry everyone, my time is up. I only have one piece of advice: Give 'em hell._

Jasmine faded away and Dreggan clattered against the stone floor. Everyone else stepped forward to where she was and looked at where she was only seconds ago with mixed expressions. Tahlia and Tom were on the verge of tears, Xunahs and Ashlee were crying softly and Kevin and Vince simply looked pissed off.

"I'm going to rip his head off." Vince said in an even voice.

"And I'll help." Kevin said. "No one fucks around with my friends if I have something to say about it. And on top of that, I owe her for saving Ashlee and I from those bastards in Alagaesia."

Just as Kevin and Vince were going to run towards Raynx, a man appeared out of nowhere. He was wearing white clothes, much like Reina's they were embroidered with gold and silver, as well as a large, black cape. A golden mask hid his face. "I'm sorry, Vince, but your tour of duty is over."

Vince looked shocked. "What? It's over? But sir, I am in the middle of something!" The boss glared at the younger Nobody with annoyance. "Are you disobeying my orders? I can easily arrange for your death, if that's what you want."

Vince dismissed his scythe and glared at his superior. "Yes sir." He followed his boss through a portal. The boss turned around as Vince walked by him and said, "I will be back soon, and when the time comes that we meet as enemies, I will expect my debts to be paid for."

Kevin looked confused. "What? Debts?" The man left before Kevin could ask what he was talking about.

When the two left, Xunahs snapped out of his crying fit almost immediately. Kevin was about to run ahead to the throne, when he heard a muffled scream from behind him.

He turned around to see Raynx standing behind Ashlee, a hand covering her mouth, and Dreggan being held at her throat. Raynx did not look amused. "I have had enough of this. I have deemed the witch unworthy of living."

Just as he was about to cut open Ashlee's throat, Kevin disappeared in a flash of lightning and Raynx felt Vortex rest lightly on his back. "You touch her and it will be the last thing you ever do."

Raynx pushed Ashlee away and began to laugh. "This is too rich! You are trying to threaten me?"

Ashlee knocked Raynx off his feet with a sweep kick. She got up and held Corona at his throat, while keeping him pinned to the ground. "It worked, didn't it?" Fire danced around Corona and Raynx flopped his arms uselessly.

"I guess you win, then." He said.

He grabbed Ashlee by the ankle and sank into the ground, dragging Ashlee down with him. She stopped sinking once her foot was stuck under the ground and Raynx appeared in front of Kevin. "I am done with this annoying dance of yours."

He threw Kevin away and opened a portal. Kevin landed on his rear and Xunahs helped him back up.

"Tom, help Ashlee." Kevin said as he stood back up. "No way! I am not letting you go on ahead alone!" Tom yelled.

Kevin ignored Tom and ran for the portal. Xunahs hefted the broadsword onto his shoulders and chased Kevin through. The portal shut behind them and Tom swore. "God damned bastards."

Tahlia nodded. "You're right. And when they come back, we can beat the crap out of them. For now, let's get Ashlee out. She looked down at where Ashlee was. "What the? She's gone!"

* * *

"The pinnacle of darkness. The very thing that supplies the cosmos with evil." Kevin stepped across the white ground. Xunahs and Ashlee close behind.

"The very reason Heartless exist. The one thing men of both light and darkness lust for more than anything else. The place where the fate of the universe was decided nearly two years ago. As well as your graves."

The three turned around to see Raynx, standing before the pearly double doors of Kingdom Hearts.

"Yes, the fate of the universe rests on your shoulders. Behind these doors lies the source of all the power I will ever need. All I need to do is to open it and the universe will be mine. Not even Venxik will stand in my way!"

"I will remove all memories of your existence from the lives of everyone living! I will dash the hope of every human being and show him or her true terror. Darkness will prevail!"

He spread his arms out and darkness erupted from around him. Everyone rose up their arms and braced themselves against the force of the wave of darkness.

They opened their eyes and saw Raynx floating in mid air. He was wearing black steel plate armor with gold lining as well as a helmet with the visor up. Dreggan was at his side and darkness was exploding at random around him.

"I will make all of you suffer a gruesome and terrifying death."

"Gruesome and terrifying? Could you be any more clichéd?" Kevin asked. Ashlee patted his shoulder comfortingly. "Don't worry Kevin, it isn't his fault, he tapped into the everlasting darkness to give him eternal life and power. In exchange, he has to say the most clichéd and awful things you could possibly think of."

Kevin smiled. "Okay, well that makes me feel better. I was worried the final baddy was acting like an idiot because he actually was one. What a relief."

Raynx disappeared and Kevin spun around, swinging Vortex with the motion. Sparks flew off the black armor as the Keyblade met the Heartless and Raynx stepped back. His expression was different from before. It was emotionless, completely blank. His golden eyes lacked pupils. "I will remove the light and drown the worlds in everlasting darkness!"

He raised his hands up and swung them downwards. The ground behind him lifted up and a wave of darkness, very much looking like a tidal wave moved towards the three. They got out of the way of the attack and Kevin dashed at Raynx. Vortex went through his body and Raynx reappeared behind him, and smashed Kevin's back with the butt of his sword. Xunahs tried to sneak up from behind, but Raynx spun around and cut Xunahs along his chest. Xunahs stepped back and gasped.

Ashlee healed him and summoned her whips. She swung her whip at him and watched it wrap around his waist. She jerked him towards her and summoned Vortex in her left hand. She impaled Raynx through the stomach on the Keyblade and the Heartless let out a cough and exploded.

The darkness making him up broke up into separate orbs that floated around each of them. Raynx reappeared at the door of Kingdom Hearts and said, "Vanish." The balls of darkness surrounding the three exploded and they were all hauled into the air.

They landed, the artificial sand flying everywhere from the impacts and Kevin got back up. Ashlee and Xunahs did as well. _He's tough._ Kevin thought bitterly.

"Are you ready to surrender yet?" Raynx asked, holding Dreggan out. He smirked. "Even if you are, that's too bad."

He ran at the three and swung Dreggan at Kevin's head. The Nobody ducked and threw himself at Raynx. The Heartless was knocked backwards and Kevin rolled away. He jumped into the air and opened his wings. He rose into the air quickly and nose-dived at Raynx, holding Vortex in front of him with both hands. Raynx disappeared at the last second and the Keyblade sank deep into the ground.

"Your efforts are futile. The darkness has granted me all the power in the universe!"

Kevin ignored the comment and began to attack Raynx more directly. Lightning flashed around him and he disappeared. He started attacking Raynx with short, quick strikes of his two Keyblades. Raynx' face screwed up with concentration as he blocked the attacks.

Vortex slid across the armor, tearing a hole in it and Kevin began focusing all of his attacks on that one spot, hoping to make the hole bigger.

Darkness flew from Raynx and threw Kevin back. Kevin flew into Ashlee and Xunahs, knocking the two over and Raynx floated there, a mildly entertained smile touching his lips.

Ashlee was the first to get up. "Let a real fighter do this, boys." She summoned Corona and walked at a brisk pace to Raynx. She crouched low, holding the hilt with both hands and said, "Hi there, mind if we dance?"

Raynx started to laugh. He doubled over, clutching at his gut. "A girl? You two are hiding behind a _girl_?" Ashlee pursed her lips. "Wrong answer, ass." She removed her left hand from the hilt and flung a fiery whip at Raynx. It wrapped itself around his armored waist and she jerked hard on the line.

Raynx flew at her and Ashlee stepped to the side as he got close. When he was close enough, she smashed him hard on the head with Corona, sending him backwards. Ashlee ran after Raynx and past him, sprinting with all her strength and spun around, lashing at his back. He was knocked to the ground and Ashlee readied a large ball of fire that was aimed for his head.

A ball of darkness appeared in front of Ashlee and exploded, knocking her backwards. Raynx got onto his feet. "Is that all? I was hoping for something that resembled a challenge. Oh well, if you aren't going to be serious about this…" He raised his arms and a giant swirling ball of darkness appeared above them.

"Prepare to be wiped from existence!" He dropped his arms and the ball arched through the air, landing directly on top of Xunahs and Kevin. The two let out cries of pain as the ball ground them into the sand and exploded.

Ashlee ran for them, screaming their names and Raynx warped in front of her, blocking her off with his arms spread wide open. "There is no use. I had them obliterated, their bodies are scattered to the darkness. You can't save them now."

"No, they're alive." She whispered, looking at the smoking crater where they should have been. "They are alive damn it! I won't let anyone else that's close to me die again today! NO ONE!" She screamed. A strange buzz met her ears and everything became still. Raynx, laughing stopped, the smoke from the crater seemed to be frozen in place. Ashlee ducked under Raynx and looked at the crater. Kevin was gone, completely. All that remained of Xunahs was a charred husk.

Ashlee gasped and stumbled back. "No… This can't be. I won't let them die. There has to be _something_ I can do!"

A handsome man dressed in an elegant silver robe walked from the pit. On his white dress shirt was a silver clock and on his white dress pants were silver threads, twining down his legs and over his silver sandals.

"Do you want them back?" He asked, his voice captivating. Ashlee almost snapped out of her dismay. She nodded dumbly. "I do, more than anything. I love Kevin, and I can't stand either him or Xunahs dying. Please, tell me what to do."

He walked up to her and instructed her to open her hand. She did so and he dropped a silver key chain in it. At the end of the Keychain was a silver grandfather clock. "Use its powers to reverse time for your friends. It is the only way."

Ashlee nodded and held her hand out, with the Keychain shut in her fist. There was a flash of light, just as the man disappeared and a long, silver Keyblade appeared in her hand.

Without thinking, Ashlee pointed the new Keyblade at the crater and whispered, "reverse." There was a soft glow coming from the Keyblade, and then the crater. Everything moved backwards in fast motion and soon, Kevin and Xunahs were there again, completely unharmed, but watching in utter terror as the ball of darkness hung above their heads. Ashlee pushed the two sitting teens out of the way of the ball and said, "resume."

The ball flew into the ground and exploded, minus the anguished cries. Raynx faced them from his previous position, a stunned expression made blatantly obvious on his face. He warped and appeared in front of them.

He held his arms up in the air and roared, "DARKNESS! CRUSH THESE FOOLS!"

Kevin sighed in frustration. "Okay, fine. If you're going to be the typical villain, I will be the typical hero. Your darkness will never win! Justice and light will prevail!" He struck a heroic pose and Xunahs and Ashlee joined in.

"To fight evil everywhere!" Ashlee punched the air.

"To protect the ideals of love and peace!" Xunahs did the same.

"That is the goal of a true hero." Kevin got into a front stance.

"Now die villain, for your time has come!" Xunahs and Ashlee held their swords out.

"We are: The Key Rangers!" The three put the ends of their swords together and raised them in the air, letting out a loud cheer.

_Never again?_

_Never._

"Darkness!" Raynx roared. Kevin looked completely dumbfounded. "No way! He's still going at it." Ashlee sighed and said, "That totally killed it too. Good job, asshole." She glared at the Heartless.

Xunahs ran at Raynx, yelling, "Not sure if you guys remember or not, but we are kinda fighting for the sake of the universe here!" He swung his broadsword at Raynx, who was still doing battle cries. Raynx was smashed hard in the side and was flung away. He disappeared and several Raynx copies appeared around Xunahs. They tried to stab him with their swords, but he let them slide into him and out. He dodged one of the swords and swung his broadsword down on the wrist of its owner. The hand fell to the ground with a _plop_ and Raynx howled in pain. The copies vanished and he glared at Xunahs, hugging the stump of his wrist. "How did you know?"

"I can read minds, bro. Not too hard to figure out where your enemy will strike next. Boink." Raynx howled in pain and collapsed, clutching at his head in agony. "That's what you get for the first five years." His glare intensified, as did Raynx' screams. "That's for the next five." He shoved his sword into Raynx' chest and twisted, adding another mental shove. Raynx let out one last blood-curdling scream. "That's what you get for everything else you've done." Xunahs ripped the sword out and Kevin ran at Raynx to deal the finishing blow.

"No, I won't die." Raynx blasted everyone away and stood up. "I won't die. Not yet." He staggered over to the doors and said, "I won't die. Kingdom Hearts; revitalize me and give me the strength to conquer all. Fill me with darkness, insurmountable darkness!"

The doors opened and Kevin walked forwards.

"If it's darkness you're looking for, Kingdom Hearts has nothing to offer you. The heart is full of light. More light than darkness. If Kingdom Hearts were a thing of the dark realm, it wouldn't produce such things. Don't you get it? Kingdom Hearts is light."

Light washed over everyone and Raynx staggered back from the explosion of light. "No, no way. Darkness. It's darkness. Light is weak, but Kingdom Hearts is almighty. Kingdom Hearts, you are darkness!" He yelled. His body began to glow and light rushed out of the door and completely overwhelmed Raynx. The darkness was blasted away and his heart drifted off. A man wearing a black robe jumped from on top of the door and grabbed the heart in a jar. He smiled at the three gathered. "Thank you for opening the door. I will take my leave now." He walked through and disappeared in the light.

A portal opened and Tahlia and Tom fell through it. "Guys, everything out there is collapsing! What happened?" Tom yelled. He turned around to see the open door.

"No way, you guys beat him!" The two Nobodys grabbed their friends in a large group hug and Kevin turned around, watching the light fade. "I guess it's time to close that door."

Kevin ran at the door and began to push it. "Come on guys, we need to shut it!"

The other four ran to the doors and help to push them shut. Tom yelped as cold fingers brushed against his hand and began to pull the door shut with him. He looked over to the person and saw Reina. "What are you doing?" He asked.

"Well, you need two Keybearers, one on either side of the door. I can't split up the two love birds, so I will fill in the spot as the second Keybearer. The spears should work well enough to seal Kingdom Hearts from the inside."

"We are most certainately not lovebirds!" Kevin said, helping Ashlee close the door.

"Heh, whatever. You guys play safe now." The door shut tight and the darkness stopped coming out.

Kevin jumped back, aiming Vortex at the middle of the door, and the girl held the spear, ready to throw it. A beam of light shot out from Vortex and Reina threw the spear. Seconds later, a loud click was heard and the giant door disappeared.

"It's over." Tahlia said, dropping to her knees.

"That was fun and all, but it really wasn't." She added.

"Well, what do we do now?" Ashlee asked.

"Why don't we go home? It's been a long time since we have seen our families. I miss them." Tom said.

Kevin nodded. "I agree, it's a good idea, anyone have objections?"

"I do." Xunahs said.

Kevin turned to him. "What? Why?"

Xunahs looked away. "I don't have any family. The only family I had was Raynx, and well, he's gone. I doubt the people back at Radiant Garden will accept me anyways."

Kevin stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Hmm… How about you come with me?"

Xunahs looked up at him. "Say what?" Kevin grinned. "Come home with me, you boob. You can start fresh, I'm sure everyone would accept you, too." Xunahs blinked back forming tears. "But, I would have nowhere to live."

Kevin's grin didn't leave. "We still have an open room, I'm sure I can convince my mom to let you live with us. Ashlee, what about you?"

"I'm not doing anything special until I know for sure that we're safe. But in the meantime, I am living with Rose. I'd say a week of family time is what all of us need."

"Tom?"

"I am going to see my family. Simple as that."

"And what about you, Tahlia?" He asked. She shuffled her feet. "Well, the thing is. Living over with Yuffie and them was fun and all, but it gets boring with the rules and whatnot. So, I was wondering if I could tag along with one of you guys."

"I'll take you." Tom said helpfully. Ashlee glared at him. "Oh no you don't, I'll take her. I don't think Rose would mind having others be with us.

* * *

Epilogue, next chapter. Everyone returns home!


	43. Epilogue and Extras

Author's Note: If there is something that needs to be taken out because it could be a violation of the rules, please let me know and I will deal with the violation as soon as I read the message.

Epilogue and Extras

He fell down through the air. He felt light as a feather as he plummeted. His fall stopped abruptly as he made impact with the water. He felt something brush his arm and he grabbed the other person by the belt loop and rose to the surface.

Kevin opened his eyes and Xunahs coughed up a lot of water. "Where are we?" He asked, looking around. "All I see is ocean. Everywhere." Kevin looked around too, finding the raft he and Andrea were on just before their adventure began. "We're home." Kevin said. He swam to the raft and Xunahs got onto it with him.

"Let's get going to shore." He looked around and tried to remember where everything was. He sighed. "Screw this."

A portal opened in front of them and they walked through it. "This makes it so much easier."

They stepped through and appeared on the sandy circle by the islet. Riku, Sora and Kairi were all sitting on the paopu tree. They turned around to see who had come from the portal, Sora holding Kingdom Key and Riku was holding Way to the Dawn. Both glared at the two for a moment, crouched and ready to attack. Kairi walked past her two friends. "Kevin?"

"Guys!" Kevin grabbed the three in a hug after Sora and Riku put away their weapons. He motioned for Xunahs to come over after the hug broke up.

Kairi held her hand out to Xunahs. "Hi there, I don't think we have met before. My name is Kairi, and you are?"

"Xunahs." He took her hand and shook.

"Is that spelled with an "X"?" Sora asked. Xunahs nodded and Kevin quickly stepped in. "He is not a member of some evil organization or anything, so don't worry. Heheh." Sora raised an eyebrow. "Okay then… Uh, nice to meet you Xunahs." He and Riku shook hands with Xunahs.

"Where the heck were you and Andrea?" Kairi asked. "Nine months darn it! Almost nine, whole months since you left! We thought you guys were dead!" Kevin quailed under her glare and stepped back. "I have a question for you guys, how did you know we were gone if you weren't around to know about our lack of existence here?"

Everyone present looked confused by the question. "What?"

"What I mean is you guys didn't have hearts up until a few seconds ago. You could ask Namine and Roxas right now!" He found them in Sora's and Kairi's minds. _Right guys?_

"What are you talking about? You're crazy!" Sora said.

Kevin sighed. "Am I? I was running around for nearly nine months, risking my neck to save the universe from a bunch of Heartless. Having Xunahs with me is proof that my story is real."

Riku raised an eyebrow. "You fought Heartless? Where's the proof?" Kevin stepped back a bit and opened his wings. "Exhibit A." He rose into the air. "Exhibit B." He used a thunder spell. "Exhibit C." Thin tendrils of water came up from the ocean behind him. "Exhibit D."

He fell back on the ground and held his hand out. Vortex appeared in his hand and he said, "Exhibit E. Now then, I think my brother and I have a story for you. So please, take a seat."

* * *

Ashlee's eyes snapped open at the sound of many men groaning in pain. She stood up slowly, as did Tahlia who was next to her. "Where are we?" Tahlia asked. Ashlee looked around at the men that were waking up and saw one woman that was lying face down on the ground. She was easily old enough to be her older sister by a few years.

"Hey Tahl, let's go help her out." Ashlee and Tahlia trotted over to the knocked down girl and helped her to her feet. The girl stretched and said, "Thank you." She looked at Ashlee and Tahlia, her eyes widening at their strange clothes. "Excuse me, but I don't believe I got your names, could you tell me them?" She asked, smacking the dust off of her farm clothes.

Ashlee nodded. "Yeah, my name is Ashlee, and this is my friend Tahlia. We came here after defeating a powerful Heartless. I don't think I have ever been here before, it looks familiar, but I can't remember where I am. What's your name?"

The girl did a curtsey as best as she could in her tomboyish apparel. "My name is Petunia." Suddenly, something snapped in her mind. "My daughter! Where is she? I remember being attacked by the Heartless and I dropped her. What if they got to her?" She started crying, tears rolling down her cheeks.

Ashlee knelt down so that her head was level with Petunia's. "Don't worry Petunia. Tahlia and I can help find her. We know some magic ourselves and we could probably find her quickly. Can you tell me her name and age? That could help."

"She's five years old. And her name is Ashlee." Petunia gave a shuddering sob after that and stood up straight again. Ashlee's eyes narrowed. "Really? Out of curiosity, is your mom around here?"

"I don't know."

"What's her name?"

"Rose… Hey! What are you doing?" Ashlee had grabbed Petunia in a hug, sniffing back tears.

"I can't believe it, I'm back home."

* * *

Venxik swore after the meteor shower ceased. "They did it." He whispered. "They beat Raynx." With a maniacal cackle, he aimed the barrel of the cannon at Destiny Islands. "I will take their home away, again!" He was about to fire the cannon, when pain blossomed in his head and something forced him from the cockpit.

He rolled across the floor, clutching at his head. _Oh naughty, naughty. You should know better than to cheat with a super weapon._ Venxik's hand began to rise into the air. He tried holding it down, but it rose at a slow pace until his palm was facing the weapon. A ball of darkness formed in his hand and flew at the weapon. It exploded, and the Crystal of Darkness was flung into the air. It stayed, suspended and Venxik swore.

_That's better. Now then, be a good host already and surrender._ Venxik let out a cry of pain as he was thrashed around and something crept deeper into his mind. He let out a shuddering sigh as the pain ceased and his pupils slowly became slitted, and his eyes, amber. Venxik began cringing. "No. No, don't. Get out of my head." He lay there, frozen for a moment, and then his eyes reverted back to their usual appearance.

_Fine. I will be back when you are weakened._

The voice left Venxik's mind altogether and he hugged his knees and began trembling. "What was that just now? The Dragon? Could it be getting even more powerful?"

* * *

Leashex sighed and put down her watering can. _I am so happy someone already had a greenhouse in this castle. While it is hard maintaining the artificial sun, I like making sure my babies are perfectly healthy._ She hummed a soft lullaby for one of the blooming flowers and Halixat appeared next to her.

"Hiya, Leashex. Having fun with the garden?" Leashex nodded, still humming the tune and Halixat joined her. After they were done, Leashex turned her full attention to the younger Heartless. "So, how did things go back there with the others?" She asked.

Halixat nodded thoughtfully. "Well, our Nobodys are becoming even more powerful, I have no doubt in my mind that Raynx was eliminated. Those other Nobodys are also becoming quite a problem. Their second in command, Reina threw most of them aside like they were nothing."

"But, she was pulled out, wasn't she?"

Halixat nodded, rubbing her throat. "Yes, she was, but that was because she wasted her last artificial Keyblade on one of my clones. Those things are only good for one shot."

Leashex nodded. "Yes, thank you. So, how did Raynx take your resignation?"

"Quite well."

"Heh."

* * *

_The ground is so cold._ His head buzzed and he felt an eerily familiar thump in his chest. He felt it again and a smile crept across his face. _I don't know how, but I guess my heart came back after all. Funny, because I thought I had kicked the bucket not too long ago._

He sat up; groaning at how much his body ached. He opened his eyes and immediately felt like closing them again. _Oasis, back home. Everything is exactly the way it was fifteen years ago before we had our confrontation with Dawn. Every upturned pebble._

He looked at his arm and gasped. It was a lot skinnier than he thought it would have been. He looked at his clothes and even lifted his shirt to get a good look at his torso. From the looks of it, he was younger than he should have been. He reached around for something reflective and his hand fell on a shard of glass. He picked it up and looked at his reflection. He dropped the glass and almost cried out. "No way, I'm sixteen again!"

The girl next to him sat up groggily and rubbed at her eyes. She turned her head to look around, her beautiful raven hair twisting with the motion. The young man's heart skipped a beat. "Gabby?"

Gabrielle looked at him in stunned silence. Her jaw was slack. "Vice?" She frowned for a second. "Vice, or Jordan, which do you prefer?"

He smiled thoughtfully. "Vice was just a name the guys gave me back when I first became a Nobody. I am human again, so why not have a human name? Jordan it is." He looked over at Anil. She looked the same as he remembered her. Bouncy brown curls in her hair, pointed chin. Even asleep, she looked dead serious. He grinned slyly, noticing that her hand was clasped in Dart's own hand. And once again, he looked exactly the same, the young, carefree face of a seventeen year old boy. The black, messy hair. How those two ever got close was beyond him.

He looked over at the lovers' siblings, Jan and Kray. Jordan almost choked on spit, realizing how much Jan looked like Tahlia. _Well, from what I learned, Tahlia didn't belong in Radiant Garden, she was orphaned._ He looked over to Kray. Round face, soft smile as he most likely dreamed lecherous stuff in his sleep. He looked over at Gabrielle. "Well, it looks like everyone is okay and accounted for."

He stood up and saw someone else. He frowned. "Everyone, including _them_."

Gard and Dawn stood there, Gard in the military uniform, as buff as ever, looking down on them smugly, and Dawn stood there, furiously glaring at the two. "And now, to do something I have wanted to do for so many years!" She pointed the end of her pike at them and a ball of darkness formed at it. Both hers and Gard's confidence were wiped out as the high pitched whine of several lasers being turned on and warmed up filled the quiet, ruined city. For a few moments, both Dawn and Gard glowed red with the lasers all being fixated on them, and someone yelled over a megaphone, "Acolyte Dawn and General Gard. You are under arrest. Put away your weapons and come into custody peacefully, or we will shoot."

Jordan ducked, as did Gabrielle. "It sounds like Luke is okay too." She whispered, giggling softly. Jordan made a face at Dawn. "Yeah, but she won't be in three… two…"

"I WILL NOT SURRENDER!" She launched the ball of darkness at Jordan, who blocked it with Caineghis. He quickly ducked again as the roar of a hundred automatic rifles filled the air. He watched with grim satisfaction as Dawn and Gard did a jittery dance, as the armor peircing bullets chewed flesh from bone and completely obliterated whatever remained.

"It's good to be home." He sighed.

* * *

Tom was sitting on the park bench, it was night time. He couldn't work up the courage to go see his family. The stars twinkled lazily in the sky and Tom found it mystifying that entire clusters of star would appear at once. He walked up and through the trees in the park. He walked through the city streets and stood at the front steps of Lochit's house. He heard the residents yell something in Spanish, and heard the laugh, Lochit's laugh. Tom made a giddy smile and walked up the steps, and knocked on the door.

Lochit opened it and grabbed him in a hug. "Tom! What happened to you after Rould tried to kill you?"

Tom returned her hug. "I am still a Nobody; I was able to defeat him with the help of my own friends. Lochit, it has been so hard without you. I can't believe Rould manipulated us for so long. I'm not done yet, though, I still have to finish the new job I started with my friends."

Lochit held his hands and smiled up at him. "Don't worry, Tom. I will help you guys out. I promise. Those nine months without you were unbearable."

"What? Nine months?"

Her parents walked up and invited him in. They were in the middle of dinner. Tom sat down next to Lochit after buckling under to their insisting.

"Tom, welcome back." Lochit's mother said, smiling at him. Her father's monstrous moustache twitched, a sign that he was smiling and Tom returned the smile. It's good to be back. Do you know if my parents are around?"

The people at the table immediately dropped the food they were about to eat and looked sadly at their plates.

"What? Why are you doing that?" Tom asked, he jumped up and knocked the chair he was in over.

"Tom." Lochit looked up at him sadly. "A man wearing strange clothes walked up to your house an hour ago. There were many loud screams and as quickly as it happened, everything went quiet again. They were murdered. He left a note on the table in your kitchen, which I got and brought back here so you could see it."

She handed him a slip of white paper that was written in red. His stomach churned, he could only guess what was used for ink.

"_Consider it half-paid."_ Tom read the note over and over again. He leaned over the side and emptied all of the contents of his stomach. Which, considering how the day had started, wasn't much.

He crumpled up the note and glared sternly at the family that was feeding him. "You're not safe." He said, fists trembling.

Lochit's parents nodded. "Yes, that is what we were arguing about before you came." Her mom said.

Tom opened a portal. "Before we left, my friend Kevin gave each of us a mental image of what his home looked like, just in case we needed to meet up somewhere. He figured it would be safest because both Sora and Riku are there. Please, this man will brutally slaughter all of you. He has some sort of vendetta against me, and he wants to make me suffer. I don't want you guys to die. You are the closest thing to family I have left."

The parents froze, unsure of what to do. Lochit insisted it was okay, and they followed Tom and Lochit through the portal. Lochit was holding his hand tightly. He embraced her in a hug as she shivered. "Even after I am set free, I am still on the run. I can't stand it!" She whispered. "It's not fair."

Tom grabbed her in a hug on the sandy shores of the Destiny Islands. "Don't worry, we will be okay."

* * *

"You are by far, the most awesome dragon I have ever met." Somaxth said, from on top of the Heartless dragon. "Swooping right in to save me, it was awesome!" He looked down and saw a clearing in the forest with a lake. "Let's drop down there and camp for the night."

_Okay, Somaxth._ The dragon replied. _Are we almost done touring this world?_

_Not quite yet, Ruby. But hey, it's pretty cool seeing the different types of life. It's equally as fun, not going around and stealing the hearts of everything we see._

_Agreed. I don't like the mindless slaughter. But it's who we are, is it not?_

_It is, but perhaps we can find a way to bypass those primal urges of being a Heartless, maybe we can find an alternative to human hearts, like that vampire who drank blood from farm animals and rats._ Somaxth suggested.

_Perhaps._ Ruby touched down and quickly went to work on making her nest. Somaxth jumped off and quickly went to work on building a fire. He pitched a tent and lay down inside, with his head poking out. He was holding a book and reading it.

He watched Ruby dive into the lake and swim around, taking the hearts of fish and swatting away any of the creatures that resulted from the theft of their hearts with swings of her powerful tail.

* * *

"It's dark. I can't see anything."

"…"

"Hello? Is someone there?"

_Reach for my hand_.

The girl did as instructed and grabbed the hand that was hanging from the darkness. She was yanked upwards and out of the darkness. She stumbled out of a hole and landed on her back. A crimson mask was put on her face and the girl standing over her offered her a red set of clothes that were fashioned much like hers.

"Take these and get dressed. By the way, welcome to the Dark Court."

* * *

"The makeup of her mask is different, sir. It completely blots out her memories."

"Yes, Reina. I am well aware. I added that function. We brought her back from the shadows. We can't have her blabbing to her friends in the light about who we are."

"You make me sick!" Vince roared from behind the closed door.

The superior pressed a button on the chair and said, "Gladys, please give him torture method six." Almost as soon as his finger was lifted from the green button, Vince's anguished screams echoed throughout the hall. The superior and Reina smiled at the cries and the new girl walked in through the room, her crimson mask gleamed in the light.

"Ah yes, Kin. Please, do sit down. We have a few things to discuss."

* * *

Character Bios

The character bios will be done in something akin to the RP character format. It won't match perfectly, seeing as how there are different RPs out there on the web, but I am most comfortable with the one kirinelf uses (even though I, myself have never taken apart in RP'ing, much to the annoyance of kirin and Ryan. Anyways, on with the character bios!)

Kevin

Age: 16

Height: 6"4'

Appearance: Light blue eyes (shading may change in differing environments). Short, brown, messy hair. Slim build, the same as that of a competitive swimmer. Green, open hoodie over an indigo t-shirt. Dark blue jeans and normal, white running shoes.

Bio: More of a free spirit, Kevin is the main protagonist of the series. He considered the leader in his circle of friends. Kevin is kind, but has a strong sense of justice. He refrains from hitting women, but if the universe is at stake, he will grudgingly do so. He tries to lighten the mood of his comrades with cheesy and/or lame jokes. Most of the time, it doesn't work out so well.

Weapon: Vortex (on ground), Unnamed Keyblade (when in Speed Form), Spiked gauntlets (in flight)

Battle style: One handed combat, he is superior with his right hand. Relies more on magic than actual physical combat, but isn't afraid to be up in the enemies' face. His elemental focus is on lightning, but will use water and wind for combat if necessary. Like Venxik and Drake, Kevin has the unique ability called Cleansing. However, the Keyblades reject the darkness Kevin absorbs, so he has to find other outlets for its power, such as using it as a temporary weapon, or energy source for healing spells.

Andrea (Deceased)

Age: 17

Height: 5"4'

Appearance: Icy blue eyes. Medium-long, straight brown hair. Slightly muscular build (she's a gymnast). Powder blue hoodie over pink t-shirt and white jeans. Sandals.

Bio: Andrea is the more caring member of the group. She takes it upon herself to make sure her friends are safe and is willing to sacrifice everything for the greater good. She is often quiet, and can be a bit goofy and light-hearted when the situation calls for it.

Weapon: Frost.

Battle style: Two handed combat. She is ambidextrous. She prefers to attack the enemies head on, but will use ice magic to give her enough of an opening to land a solid blow.

Ashlee

Age: 16

Height: 5"9'

Appearance: Green eyes. Long, straight blonde hair. Slim build. She wears a red, short-sleeved t-shirt over top of a purple, long-sleeved one. She wears red parachute pants. Black running shoes.

Bio: Ashlee is the tomboy of the group. She will often call people on their less than stellar qualities (such as Kevin's amazing ability to be captured without effort.). However, she is often quiet and likes to listen rather than speak. Over the course of the story, she has developed something similar to a crush for Kevin (which he returns).

Weapon: Corona, fire whips, unnamed Keyblade.

Battle style: One handed combat. Her left hand is dominant. Ashlee focuses on a balance of magic and physical power. After getting her Keyblade, Corona, Ashlee often uses her whips to help bring enemies in for a beating, rather than an actual weapon. While her elemental focus is on fire, she has also learned how to manipulate gravity and time to a lesser degree, sometimes to extreme degrees if in desperation.

Tom

Age: 15

Height: 6"1'

Appearance: Brown eyes. Short, messy, dark brown hair. Slightly muscular build. He wears a camouflage t-shirt to go with his camouflage track pants. He wears (surprise) camouflage running shoes as well.

Bio: Tom is the romantic. Often thinking of silly or just plain impossible ideals. However, he does have a sharp mind and knows when to act serious and when to fantasize. For some reason, between the time he lost his heart, and he met Kevin, he and Lochit worked under Rould.

Weapon: Anything formed from stone.

Battle style: Uses the terrain around him, and due to his element, is very analytical in battle.

Xunahs:

Age: 15

Height: 6"2'

Appearance: Purple eyes. Short platinum blond hair. Slightly muscular build (think about Riku). He wears a closed plum hoodie with no shirt underneath. He has dark blue jeans and wears black running shoes.

Bio: Xunahs is Kevin's adoptive brother, who was introduced midway through the story as such. Xunahs is often shy and has self-esteem issues from the pain his biological brother, Ryan put him through. However, after meeting Kevin, someone that genuinely cared for him, Xunahs opened up more and made Kevin his absolute first source of help.

Weapon: Broadsword

Battle style: Two handed. Xunahs is best with his right hand. He will often use techniques he learned while being an assassin as a human. He will use different toxic liquids in darts he throws at the enemies to paralyze or even instantly kill them.

Tahlia

Age: 13

Height: 5"5'

Appearance: Green eyes, short orange hair with a yellow streak. She wears a neon green t-shirt and shorts combination, as well as equally as bright green sandals. What a trendsetter.

Bio: Tahlia, as quoted from Xigbar is "one special girl". While she is most often hyper and a bit of a pest, she does have her moments in which she says something very profound. She cares for her friends and will not be merciful if she is pointing out the flaws in people, especially if those flaws are negative to those around the person.

Weapon: Kunai

Battle style: Tahlia often stands back and whips her electrified kunai at her enemies. She knows pressure points quite well and has good enough accuracy to hit her intended target if she's within ten feet of her target.

Jasmine (deceased)

Age: 16

Height: 5"10'

Appearance: Light purple eyes, long red hair with yellow accents. She wears a red jacket with black shirt and jeans underneath. She wears dark red running shoes.

Bio: Jasmine is the most masculine out of everyone in it. If she decides something is going to be done, anyone that decides otherwise will feel her wrath. However, even though Jasmine does come off as a bitch at times, she is very caring for her friends and will be merciless to anyone that tries to hurt them. She is often the first to notice something is amiss with the situation and is the first to point out the problem.

Weapon: Chakrams, Sun and Moon Blades, bare hands.

Battle style: Jasmine is ambidextrous. She is the most powerful fighter of the Nobodys and has the widest range of weapons she can use. Even the three mentioned above aren't the only weapons in her arsenal. She often relies on physical combat alone, but will use magic if she is backed into a corner.

Raynx (deceased)

Age: 25

Height: 6"3'

Appearance: Messily spiked black hair. Black jacket over dark grey t-shirt and dark grey pants.

Bio: Raynx is evil incarnate, but a more calm and collected version of his Nobody, Ryan. Raynx will stop at nothing to make sure his goals are reached, but will step down if he knows he has no way to win. If this happens, he makes a strategic retreat so that he can… Strategize… (yeah…) He is emotionally abusive of his brother, Xunahs for reasons unknown.

Weapon: Dreggan.

Battle style: Raynx mixes illusions and his own attacks to confuse his opponents and defeat them. He is clever in battle and will rely on many different factors to give himself the upper hand.

Axdrane (deceased)

Age: 17

Height: 5"4'

Appearance: Curly long black hair. She wears a long black dress for casual affairs, and a dark gray combat suit in battle.

Bio: Axdrane is manipulative. On top of that, she is borderline crazy. She loves nothing more than manipulating boys into liking her by making them think she is the only way to go, or they will be failures for eternity (which is how she got Xunahs to have a crush on her). She is quick to be angered, but is irrational when angry, which may or may not be to the advantage of her antagonizers.

Weapon: Varied.

Battle style: Like her weapons, her style of combat is varied. She is confident enough with any form of combat that she will allow her enemies to choose their own "instruments of destruction" simply because she is bored.

Maxjisne (deceased)

Age: 16

Height: 5"10'

Appearance: Straight, long red hair with black accents. She wears a red dress shirt with impossibly long coattails and tight black jeans that go past her feet. Rumor has it that she goes barefoot as a testament to her manliness compared to everyone else.

Bio: Maxjisne has a cruel sense of humor and will often play mind games with others to make them suffer internally. She and Raynx have many things in common when it comes to that.

Weapon: Sun and Moon Blades

Battle style: Maxjisne relies on Moon Blade to guard, and Sun Blade for offence. She often relies on using magic while standing back and has such refined powers that she can even manipulate the molten rock in a volcano.

Xochitl (deceased)

Age: 16

Height: 5"11'

Appearance: Short, curly black hair. She wears a long, white dress that doesn't hinder her performance in battle whatsoever. Under them are white high heels.

Bio: Xochitl can easily be described as a "cold bitch". She isn't mean by nature, but she is often the quiet one, and tends to belittle those around her by pointing their flaws out with painful precision, or just simply abandoning them. Unlike every other Heartless that sided with Raynx, Xochitl had ideals for universal peace and was swayed by Raynx' speech and quickly left Venxik and the Heartless that sided with him behind.

Weapon: Ice

Battle style: Xochitl relies on the very moisture in the atmosphere for her attacks. But don't think that if you are in an arid desert, there is no way for her to beat you. Nope, she still has the liquid inside your own body to freeze over.

"Superior"

Age: ???

Height: ???

Appearance: His hairstyle is unknown, seeing as how his hair and face are hidden by his mask. Superior wears a form-fitting black uniform that is identical to Reina's and Kin's own clothing except it has silver and gold threads running along it. On top of that, he wears a black cape. Very typical apparel for an evil overlord.

Bio: Leader of the Dark Court. Not much is known about Superior, except that he is evil and has some sort of vendetta against the heroes. He likes causing mental and physical anguish to anyone that goes against his orders or displeases him.

Weapon: ???

Battle style: ???

Reina

Age: ???

Height: ???

Appearance: She has short brown hair, cut in a very boyish way. She wears a white outfit that can be best compared with the uniform of the "Espada" from Bleach. Her silver mask hides her face.

Bio: Second in command of the Dark Court. Not much is known about Reina. Only that she is unpredictable. One moment, she can be on the side of the good guys, the next she will be trying to stab them in the back.

Weapon: Keyspears.

Fighting style: Reina is very casual in battle and has never taken any of her opponents seriously. She is strong enough to throw away most of the Heartless as if they were nothing but trash.

Drake

Age: ???

Height: ???

Appearance: Drake wears an army officer's uniform. He has short, grey hair and amber eyes and looks like he would be an army veteran in regards to age.

Bio: Not much is known about Drake's character. He likes to talk more than fight, and if it does come down to a fight, he will use others to fight for him. Even most Heartless respect him as a powerful man.

Weapon: Foil (type of rapier, google/wiki it)

Battle style: He can possess beings of darkness and inhabit their bodies, slowly taking strength from them so that he himself can become powerful. Like Kevin and Venxik, he has the unique ability of Cleansing, which may be how he is able to enter other bodies of darkness.

Vince (deceased?)

Age: ???

Height: ???

Appearance: Vince sports the Grim Reaper's cloak. Nothing is known about his facial features, the only hint towards his age is that he's a teenager.

Bio: Vince is the second newest member of the Dark Court, next only to Kin. Even though he is a Nobody, he quickly developed strong feelings for Jasmine and risked losing his arm to save her. He tried to remain to finish of Raynx as Superior came to take him in. For denying Superior, Vince was subject to brutal torture.

Weapon: Rune inscribed scythe.

Battle style: Not much is known about his fighting style, nor his strength.

* * *

About the X in the Heartless' Names:

The original plan was for the Heartless to be Nobodys, and as such, they would have the X-anagram names. However, after I thought about it, I thought it was stupid and I came up with the Nobodys being good guys, and the Heartless being the bad guys. For reasons unknown, I made the Heartless take the X-anagram names. I did the X-anagram thing in the first place because back then, I had no idea what to do for names (which is also what I did for the other characters that I based off of my friends). The X-anagramming will stop, of course once the Heartless thing blows over, and everyone will have more normal names.

* * *

Quick Note:

Why yes, this is self-insertion. Why did I do it you ask? Because I love the Kingdom Hearts games, I always wondered what it would be like to be a part of the universe I loved so much. Now then, the whole Sora, Riku and Kairi being my friends thing was Mary Sue, I will admit that much, but once again, at the time, I had no idea or care for whether or not my character was Mary Sue. If I started the whole thing now, I might have done something different. But just because I came to the realization that my guy is a Mary Sue, does not mean that I will fix him. In my mind's eye, he is an average person that is made "un-average" because of the situation he's in, what with lacking a heart and all. When he becomes fully human again, Kevin will probably seem more probably as a human being, or maybe I am just being too hard on myself and Kevin is very human.

Not following canon? Sorry about that, I can understand the Nobodys having emotions (or displaying them) would be a very harsh kick in the teeth, but I believe that the Nobodys react on instinct to different situations by using their memory to remind them of what emotions are like. So, if you are a Nobody get hugged by the girl you like. Your mind is going to tell you from memory that you should be happy. And you will be. That's how I see it. The Nobodys in Organization XIII lack emotions, but have personalities, which is impossible without emotions. I am going by what I see in the games, not how people say they should act versus what the canon itself shows. Rants aside… Woo! This is finally over! –dance-

* * *

Credits

Tom M. (Firestorm Studios) For being my great reviewer and the person I can rely on for advice in a pinch.

SkyLandOcean, for being there to give me support in reviews and being one of the many driving forces in getting me to start a fanfiction of my very own, as well as allowing me the rights to some of her ideas and characters.

Jasmine, for reading along with me and pointing out every. Single. Flaw. I happen to make. If it weren't for her, Andrea would be running around, swinging Vortex and screaming "noodles" or something… Heh… Noodles.

kirinelf, for reading my story and helping to bounce ideas around for some of the more in depth parts of my story, and always being a good person to talk to when I am in a bind about what to do next.

Ryan, for… Reading a bit and then leaving.

Parents for telling me to get off my duff publish something already.

Nippon Ichi (creators of Disgaea), for inspiring some of the humor in my fic.

And you guys for reading. Kinda wished you dropped a review (or more, in some cases), but oh well. It was awesome, knowing people were and are reading my fic.

* * *

So now, we get to wait one month for the sequel: Noon, in which the remaining Heartless are taken out and other such stuff. Anyways, until February 12, 2009, seeya!


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